Hygienic Behaviour of Honeybee Colonies with Different Levels of Polyandry and Genotypic Composition

Social organisms combat pathogens through individual innate immune responses or through social immunity—behaviors among individuals that limit pathogen transmission within groups. Although we have a relatively detailed understanding of the genetics and evolution of the innate immune system of animals, we know little about social immunity. Addressing this knowledge gap is crucial for understanding how life-history traits influence immunity, and identifying if trade-offs exist between innate and social immunity. Hygienic behavior in the Western honey bee, Apis mellifera , provides an excellent model for investigating the genetics and evolution of social immunity in animals. This heritable, colony-level behavior is performed by nurse bees when they detect and remove infected or dead brood from the colony. We sequenced 125 haploid genomes from two artificially selected highly hygienic populations and a baseline unselected population. Genomic contrasts allowed us to identify a minimum of 73 genes tentatively associated with hygienic behavior. Many genes were within previously discovered QTLs associated with hygienic behavior and were predictive of hygienic behavior within the unselected population. These genes were often involved in neuronal development and sensory perception in solitary insects. We found that genes associated with hygienic behavior have evidence of positive selection within honey bees ( Apis ), supporting the hypothesis that social immunity contributes to fitness. Our results indicate that genes influencing developmental neurobiology and behavior in solitary insects may have been co-opted to give rise to a novel and adaptive social immune phenotype in honey bees.

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“…2012; Uzunov et al. 2014; Gerula et al. 2015) (supplementary table S5, Supplementary Material online).…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Integrative Genomics Reveals the Genetics and Evolution of the Honey Bee’s Social Immune System

Harpur

Guarna

Huxter³

et al. 2019

Genome Biology and Evolution

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“…The performance of the hygienic behavior of honeybee colonies with various genotypes is more dependent on the selection than the degree of polyandry. Hygienic behavior in colonies is due to the characteristics of individual components and can vary significantly depending on environmental conditions [57].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A Comparative Assessment of Hygienic Behavior of Carniolan (Apismelliferacarnica Pollmann) and Yemeni (Apismellifera jemenitica Ruttner) Honeybees Using Infra-Red Photography Video Recording

Al-Kahtani

Taha

2022

Sustainability

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The use of infra-red photography video recording is very useful for conducting behavioristic studies of honeybees against many brood diseases. The removal of dead or diseased brood from capped cells by honeybee workers is a heritable trait that confers colony-level resistance. This work aimed to compare the hygienic behavior of the native (Yemeni bees, A. mellifera jemenitica) and the exotic (Carniolan bees, A. m. carnica) honeybee races in Saudi Arabia using an infra-red photography video recording. In addition, hygienic behavior towards the related and non-related combs was examined. Therefore, it is possible to obtain honeybee colonies with greater disease resistance. The pin-killing method and infra-red photography video recording were used for the evaluation of hygienic behavior in colonies of the two races. Significant differences in hygienic behavior between the two races were detected at the beginning of the experiment. Under the environmental conditions of eastern Saudi Arabia, the Yemeni honeybee colonies showed a higher number of uncapped and cleaned cells containing dead brood in either the brood comb from the same colony, or the brood comb from the same race but a different colony, or brood comb from a different race. It was concluded that the honeybee’s ability to detect and clean the dead brood from comb cells can be correlated with race and it is more efficient for the non-related individuals of the same race than from a related or another race. The outstanding performance of a few individuals in the expression of various traits indicates their usefulness in carrying out breeding programs for Varroa resistance.

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“…Zdeterminowana genetycznie odporność behawioralna ma na celu zapobieganie rozwojowi zakażeń oraz eliminowanie z rodziny czynników chorobotwórczych, w szczególności pasożytów. Objawia się ona między innymi poprzez behawior higieniczny, mechaniczne czyszczenie powłok ciała, a także szczególną dbałość o czerw (21,37,39,75,76,108). Umiejętność usuwania roztoczy z powłok ciała zwana jest zachowaniem pielęgnacyjnym (grooming behaviour) pszczół.…”

Section: Ryc 1 Podział Typów Odporności Występującej U Pszczół Miodunclassified

Individual and social immune mechanisms of the honey bee (Apis mellifera)

Strachecka¹,

Łoś²,

Filipczuk³

et al. 2018

Medycyna Weterynaryjna

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Honey bees (Apis mellifera) are constantly exposed to contact with many types of pathogens. However, during evolution they developed a number of immune mechanisms. At the individual level, they comprise 1) resistance mechanisms associated with anatomical and physiological barriers of the body, 2) cell-mediated immunity involving hemocytes (including plasmocytes, lamellocytes, and granulocytes), 3a) congenital humoral resistance related to the activity of lysozyme (N-acetylmuramylhydrolase), the prophenylooxidase system (ProPO) and hemagglutinins (lectins), and 3b) induced humoral resistence based on the action of antimicrobial peptides: apidicines, hymenoptecin, and defensins. In addition to the individual resistance of each bee, there is also a defense mechanism activated at the colony level. Shared secretion resistance is connected with the presence of antipathogenic compounds in secreta and in bee products. Social immunity is associated with hygienic and nursing behaviors, as well as with age polyethism in the colony, swarming (and the emergence of rebel workers), and the changing behavior of sick individuals. Many aspects and interactions between different types of resistance and immunity still remain unexplored. However, current research trends revolve around clarifying uncertainties so as to strengthen the natural resistance of bees and fight against pathogens that threaten the insects..

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Hygienic Behaviour of Honeybee Colonies with Different Levels of Polyandry and Genotypic Composition

Cited by 5 publications

References 23 publications

Integrative Genomics Reveals the Genetics and Evolution of the Honey Bee’s Social Immune System

Integrative Genomics Reveals the Genetics and Evolution of the Honey Bee’s Social Immune System

A Comparative Assessment of Hygienic Behavior of Carniolan (Apismelliferacarnica Pollmann) and Yemeni (Apismellifera jemenitica Ruttner) Honeybees Using Infra-Red Photography Video Recording

Individual and social immune mechanisms of the honey bee (Apis mellifera)

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