Ties between ageing plasticity and reproductive physiology in honey bees (Apis mellifera) reveal a positive relation between fecundity and longevity as consequence of advanced social evolution

Rueppell, Olav; Aumer, Denise; Moritz, Robin F. A.

doi:10.1016/j.cois.2016.05.009

Cited by 34 publications

(35 citation statements)

References 60 publications

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“…Age-related immunity has been shown to protect queens from Nosema infection [ 56 ]; therefore, it is possible that over time queens build immunity for pathogens to which they are exposed. Differential gene expression between workers and queens [ 67 ] and social facilitation also contribute to the long life of the queen [ 44 ], as workers are more likely to encounter detrimental environmental stressors than the queen because of their caste-related roles. In addition, queens are fed a protein-rich diet of royal jelly and colonies fed protein-rich diets have reduced DWV viral loads [ 68 ].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Pathogens are present in most aspects of colony life, including the incredibly divergent life histories between castes. Queens are long-lived compared to workers, and as such they are considered to be less susceptible to infection [ 44 ]. Queens historically live on average for 2–3 years [ 45 ], although likely less in recent years [ 46 ].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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The Pathogen Profile of a Honey Bee Queen Does Not Reflect That of Her Workers

Kevill

Lee

Goblirsch

et al. 2020

Insects

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Throughout a honey bee queen’s lifetime, she is tended to by her worker daughters, who feed and groom her. Such interactions provide possible horizontal transmission routes for pathogens from the workers to the queen, and as such a queen’s pathogen profile may be representative of the workers within a colony. To explore this further, we investigated known honey bee pathogen co-occurrence, as well as pathogen transmission from workers to queens. Queens from 42 colonies were removed from their source hives and exchanged into a second, unrelated foster colony. Worker samples were taken from the source colony on the day of queen exchange and the queens were collected 24 days after introduction. All samples were screened for Nosema spp., Trypanosome spp., acute bee paralysis virus (ABPV), black queen cell virus (BQCV), chronic bee paralysis virus (CBPV), Israeli acute paralysis virus (IAPV), Lake Sinai virus (LSV), and deformed wing virus master variants (DWV-A, B, and C) using RT-qPCR. The data show that LSV, Nosema, and DWV-B were the most abundant pathogens in colonies. All workers (n = 42) were LSV-positive, 88% were Nosema-positive, whilst pathogen loads were low (<1 × 106 genome equivalents per pooled worker sample). All queens (n = 39) were negative for both LSV and Nosema. We found no evidence of DWV transmission occurring from worker to queen when comparing queens to foster colonies, despite DWV being present in both queens and workers. Honey bee pathogen presence and diversity in queens cannot be revealed from screening workers, nor were pathogens successfully transmitted to the queen.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Pathogen Profile of a Honey Bee Queen Does Not Reflect That of Her Workers

Kevill

Lee

Goblirsch

et al. 2020

Insects

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“…Queens mate with multiple males and therefore have an increased risk of acquiring pathogens through ejaculates [163]. Although they are ostensibly more resistant to pathogen infections as compared to workers [164,165], several pathogens, including viruses and Nosema spp., have been detected in queens (reviewed [28]). Viruses such as Deformed Wing virus can be transmitted to queens via instrumental insemination with contaminated semen [60] and queens from healthy colonies taking mating flights in areas containing colonies with high V. destructor mite infestation are more likely to be infected with Deformed Wing virus than queens located in low-mite infested areas [61].…”

Section: Seminal Fluid Proteins and Their Potential Roles In Queenmentioning

confidence: 99%

Putative Drone Copulation Factors Regulating Honey Bee (Apis mellifera) Queen Reproduction and Health: A Review

Brutscher

Baer

Niño

2019

Insects

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Honey bees are major pollinators of agricultural and non-agricultural landscapes. In recent years, honey bee colonies have exhibited high annual losses and commercial beekeepers frequently report poor queen quality and queen failure as the primary causes. Honey bee colonies are highly vulnerable to compromised queen fertility, as each hive is headed by one reproductive queen. Queens mate with multiple drones (male bees) during a single mating period early in life in which they obtain enough spermatozoa to fertilize their eggs for the rest of their reproductive life span. The process of mating initiates numerous behavioral, physiological, and molecular changes that shape the fertility of the queen and her influence on the colony. For example, receipt of drone semen can modulate queen ovary activation, pheromone production, and subsequent worker retinue behavior. In addition, seminal fluid is a major component of semen that is primarily derived from drone accessory glands. It also contains a complex mixture of proteins such as proteases, antioxidants, and antimicrobial proteins. Seminal fluid proteins are essential for inducing post-mating changes in other insects such as Drosophila and thus they may also impact honey bee queen fertility and health. However, the specific molecules in semen and seminal fluid that initiate post-mating changes in queens are still unidentified. Herein, we summarize the mating biology of honey bees, the changes queens undergo during and after copulation, and the role of drone semen and seminal fluid in post-mating changes in queens. We then review the effects of seminal fluid proteins in insect reproduction and potential roles for honey bee drone seminal fluid proteins in queen reproduction and health. We finish by proposing future avenues of research. Further elucidating the role of drone fertility in queen reproductive health may contribute towards reducing colony losses and advancing honey bee stock development.

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“…Honey bees display remarkable caste-specific differences in longevity, with reproductive queens living 1-2 years, while sterile workers live 2-6 weeks in the summer and ~ 20 weeks in the winter 16,37,38 . Likely underlying this longevity, honey bee queens appear to display uncoupling of the reproduction-maintenance trade-off typically found in solitary organisms.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Reproductive potential does not cause loss of heat shock response performance in honey bees

Shih

Huntsman

Flores

et al. 2020

Sci Rep

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In other species characterized to date, aging, as a function of reproductive potential, results in the breakdown of proteaostasis and a decreased capacity to mount responses by the heat shock response (HSR) and other proteostatic network pathways. Our understanding of the maintenance of stress pathways, such as the HSR, in honey bees, and in the reproductive queen in particular, is incomplete. Based on the findings in other species showing an inverse relationship between reproductive potential and HSR function, one might predict that that HSR function would be lost in the reproductive queens. However, as queens possess an atypical uncoupling of the reproduction-maintenance trade-off typically found in solitary organisms, HSR maintenance might also be expected. Here we demonstrate that reproductive potential does not cause loss of HSR performance in honey bees as queens induce target gene expression to levels comparable to those induced in attendant worker bees. Maintenance of HSR function with advent of reproductive potential is unique among invertebrates studied to date and provides a potential model for examining the molecular mechanisms regulating the uncoupling of the reproduction-maintenance trade-off in queen bees, with important consequences for understanding how stresses impact different types of individuals in honey bee colonies.

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Ties between ageing plasticity and reproductive physiology in honey bees (Apis mellifera) reveal a positive relation between fecundity and longevity as consequence of advanced social evolution

Cited by 34 publications

References 60 publications

The Pathogen Profile of a Honey Bee Queen Does Not Reflect That of Her Workers

The Pathogen Profile of a Honey Bee Queen Does Not Reflect That of Her Workers

Putative Drone Copulation Factors Regulating Honey Bee (Apis mellifera) Queen Reproduction and Health: A Review

Reproductive potential does not cause loss of heat shock response performance in honey bees

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