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PubMed2006

Genome scan for cis-regulatory DNA motifs associated with social behavior in honey bees.

Honey bees (Apis mellifera) undergo an age-related, socially regulated transition from working in the hive to foraging, which is associated with changes in the expression of thousands of genes in the brain. To begin to study the cis-regulatory code underlying this massive social regulation of gene expression, we used the newly sequenced honey bee genome to scan the promoter regions of eight sets of behaviorally related genes differentially expressed in the brain in the context of division of labor among worker bees, for 41 cis-regulatory motifs previously characterized in Drosophila melanogaster. Binding sites for the transcription factors Hairy, GAGA, Adf1, Cf1, Snail, and Dri, known to function in nervous system development, olfactory learning, or hormone binding in Drosophila, were significantly associated with one or more gene sets. The presence of some binding sites also predicted expression patterns for as many as 71% of the genes in some gene sets. These results suggest that there is a robust relationship between cis and social regulation of brain gene expression, especially considering that we studied <15% of all known transcription factors. These results also suggest that transcriptional networks involved in the regulation of development in Drosophila are used to regulate behavioral development in adult honey bees. However, differences in gene regulation between these two processes are suggested by the finding that the promoter regions for the behaviorally related bee genes differed in both motif occurrence and G/C content relative to their Drosophila orthologs.

Animals↗
PubMed1993

Multiple origins of advanced eusociality in bees inferred from mitochondrial DNA sequences.

The remarkably high level of colony organization found in the honey bees and stingless bees (family Apidae) is extremely rare among animals. Yet there is controversy over whether these two groups independently evolved advanced eusocial behavior or inherited it from a common ancestor. Phylogenetic analyses of DNA sequence information from the mitochondrial genome (large-subunit ribosomal RNA gene) of representative apid bees suggest that advanced eusocial behavior evolved twice independently within this assemblage. These results depart from previous hypotheses of apid relationships by indicating a close phylogenetic relationship between the primitively eusocial bumble bees and the stingless bees.

Animals↗
PubMed2000

Changes in period mRNA levels in the brain and division of labor in honey bee colonies.

Previous research showed that age-related division of labor in honey bees is associated with changes in activity rhythms; young adult bees perform hive tasks with no daily rhythms, whereas older bees forage with strong daily rhythms. We report that this division of labor is also associated with differences in both circadian rhythms and mRNA levels of period, a gene well known for its role in circadian rhythms. The level of period mRNA in the brain oscillated in bees of all ages, but was significantly higher at all times in foragers. Elevated period mRNA levels cannot be attributed exclusively to aging, because bees induced to forage precociously because of a change in social environment had levels similar to normal age foragers. These results extend the regulation of a "clock gene" to a social context and suggest that there are connections at the molecular level between division of labor and chronobiology in social insects.

Animals↗
PubMed2001

Monophyly and extensive extinction of advanced eusocial bees: insights from an unexpected Eocene diversity.

Advanced eusociality sometimes is given credit for the ecological success of termites, ants, some wasps, and some bees. Comprehensive study of bees fossilized in Baltic amber has revealed an unsuspected middle Eocene (ca. 45 million years ago) diversity of eusocial bee lineages. Advanced eusociality arose once in the bees with significant post-Eocene losses in diversity, leaving today only two advanced eusocial tribes comprising less than 2% of the total bee diversity, a trend analogous to that of hominid evolution. This pattern of changing diversity contradicts notions concerning the role of eusociality for evolutionary success in insects.

Animals↗
PubMed2005

Evaluation of an upper hive entrance for control of Aethina tumida (Coleoptera: Nitidulidae) in colonies of honey bees (Hymenoptera: Apidae).

This investigation was conducted to test whether an upper hive entrance may result in reduced Aethina tumida Murray (Coleoptera: Nitidulidae) population buildup in newly established honey bee, Apis mellifera L., colonies over an 8-mo period. The upper hive entrance consisted of a 3.5-cm-i.d. polyvinyl chloride pipe positioned 20 cm above the hive bottom. Sixteen bee colonies were established using five-frame nucleus hives with a 0.9-kg (2-1b) package of bees with queen. Eight colonies were placed in each apiary, and each colony received one of two treatments: 1) conventional hive lower entrance and 2) modified upper hive entrance. This investigation was conducted in two distant apiaries where A. tumida had been a major problem to local beekeepers for a minimum of 2 yr. Results showed no overall differences between treatment effects on A. tumida counts over the test period, but there was a reduction in bee brood measured in colonies having an upper hive entrance. We conclude that the upper pipe entrance is not recommended in areas where A. tumida are well established and have become problematic. The expected reduction of brood in colonies as a result of using an upper hive entrance will lead to less productive units for honey production and pollination activities. Other control measures will be necessary to maintain tolerable levels of A. tumida in honey bee colonies at high pest densities.

Animals↗
PubMed2005

Effect of concentration and exposure time on treatment efficacy against Varroa mites (Acari: Varroidae) during indoor winter fumigation of honey bees (Hymenoptera: Apidae) with formic acid.

The combination of the concentration of formic acid and the duration of fumigation (CT product) during indoor treatments of honey bee, Apis mellifera L., colonies to control the varroa mite, Varroa destructor Anderson & Trueman, determines the efficacy of the treatment. Because high concentrations can cause queen mortality, we hypothesized that a high CT product given as a low concentration over a long exposure time rather than as a high concentration over a short exposure time would allow effective control of varroa mites without the detrimental effects on queens. The objective of this study was to assess different combinations of formic acid concentration and exposure time with similar CT products in controlling varroa mites while minimizing the effect on worker and queen honey bees. Treated colonies were exposed to a low, medium, or high concentration of formic acid until a mean CT product of 471 ppm*d in room air was realized. The treatments consisted of a long-term low concentration of 19 ppm for 27 d, a medium-term medium concentration of 42 ppm for 10 d, a short-term high concentration of 53 ppm for 9 d, and an untreated control. Both short-term high-concentration and medium-term medium-concentration fumigation with formic acid killed varroa mites, with averages of 93 and 83% mortality, respectively, but both treatments also were associated with an increase in mortality of worker bees, queen bees, or both. Long-term low-concentration fumigation had lower efficacy (60% varroa mite mortality), but it did not increase worker or queen bee mortality. This trend differed slightly in colonies from two different beekeepers. Varroa mite mean abundance was significantly decreased in all three acid treatments relative to the control. Daily worker mortality was significantly increased by the short-term high concentration treatment, which was reflected by a decrease in the size of the worker population, but not an increase in colony mortality. Queen mortality was significantly greater under the medium-term medium concentration and the short-term high concentration treatments than in controls.

Animals↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Pleiotropy, epistasis and new QTL: the genetic architecture of honey bee foraging behavior.

The regulation of division of labor in social insects, particularly in the honey bee (Apis mellifera L.), has received considerable attention from a number of biological subdisciplines, including quantitative and behavioral genetics, because of the high complexity of the behavioral traits involved. The foraging choices of honey bee workers can be accurately quantified, and previous studies have made the foraging behavior of honey bees one of the best studied naturally occurring behavioral phenotypes. Three quantitative trait loci (QTL) have been identified that influence a set of foraging variables, including the concentration of nectar collected and the amount of pollen and nectar brought back to the hive. This study extends previous genetic investigations and represents the most comprehensive investigation of the genetic architecture of these foraging variables. We examined the effects of markers for the three established QTL and for one further candidate gene (Amfor), in two reciprocal backcross populations. These populations were also used to carry out two new QTL mapping studies, with over 400 Amplified Fragment Length Polymorphism (AFLP) markers in each. We detected a variety of effects of the genetic markers for the established QTL and the candidate gene, which were mostly epistatic in nature. A few new QTL could be detected with a variety of mapping techniques. Our results add complexity to the genetic architecture of the foraging behavior of the honey bee. Specifically, we support the hypotheses that pln1, pln2, pln3, and Amfor are involved in the regulation of foraging behavior in the honey bee and add some new factors that deserve further study in the future.

Animals↗
PubMed2004

Predator-prey coevolution: Australian native bees avoid their spider predators.

Australian crab spiders Thomisus spectabilis manipulate visual flower signals to lure introduced Apis mellifera. We gave Australian native bees, Austroplebia australis, the choice between two white daisies, Chrysanthemum frutescens, one of them occupied by a crab spider. The colour contrast between flowers and spiders affected the behaviour of native bees. Native bees approached spider-occupied flowers more frequently. However, native bees avoided flowers occupied by spiders and landed on vacant flowers more frequently. In contrast to honeybees that did not coevolve with T. spectabilis, Australian native bees show an anti-predatory response to avoid flowers occupied by this predator.

Animals↗
PubMed2003

Fruit set of highland coffee increases with the diversity of pollinating bees.

The worldwide decline of pollinators may negatively affect the fruit set of wild and cultivated plants. Here, we show that fruit set of the self-fertilizing highland coffee (Coffea arabica) is highly variable and related to bee pollination. In a comparison of 24 agroforestry systems in Indonesia, the fruit set of coffee could be predicted by the number of flower-visiting bee species, and it ranged from ca. 60% (three species) to 90% (20 species). Diversity, not abundance, explained variation in fruit set, so the collective role of a species-rich bee community was important for pollination success. Additional experiments showed that single flower visits from rare solitary species led to higher fruit set than with abundant social species. Pollinator diversity was affected by two habitat parameters indicating guild-specific nesting requirements: the diversity of social bees decreased with forest distance, whereas the diversity of solitary bees increased with light intensity of the agroforestry systems. These results give empirical evidence for a positive relationship between ecosystem functions such as pollination and biodiversity. Conservation of rainforest adjacent to adequately managed agroforestry systems could improve the yields of farmers.

Animals↗
PubMed2006

Recent and simultaneous origins of eusociality in halictid bees.

Eusocial organisms are characterized by cooperative brood care, generation overlap and reproductive division of labour. Traits associated with eusociality are most developed in ants, termites, paper wasps and corbiculate bees; the fossil record indicates that each of these advanced eusocial taxa evolved in the Late Cretaceous or earlier (greater than 65 Myr ago). Halictid bees also include a large and diverse number of eusocial members, but, in contrast to advanced eusocial taxa, they are characterized by substantial intra- and inter-specific variation in social behaviour, which may be indicative of more recent eusocial evolution. To test this hypothesis, we used over 2400 bp of DNA sequence data gathered from three protein-coding nuclear genes (opsin, wingless and EF-1a) to infer the phylogeny of eusocial halictid lineages and their relatives. Results from relaxed molecular clock dating techniques that utilize a combination of molecular and fossil data indicate that the three independent origins of eusociality in halictid bees occurred within a narrow time frame between approximately 20 and 22 Myr ago. This relatively recent evolution helps to explain the pronounced levels of social variation observed within these bees. The three origins of eusociality appear to be temporally correlated with a period of global warming, suggesting that climate may have had an important role in the evolution and maintenance of eusociality in these bees.

Animals↗
PubMed2005

Intricate transmission routes and interactions between picorna-like viruses (Kashmir bee virus and sacbrood virus) with the honeybee host and the parasitic varroa mite.

Viral diseases of honeybees are a major problem in apiculture, causing serious economic losses worldwide, especially in combination with varroa mites. To increase understanding of the relationship among viruses, mites and colony decline, the tripartite relationships among bees, viruses [Kashmir bee virus (KBV) and sacbrood virus (SBV)] and varroa mites have been investigated systematically. To develop an antibody-based test for KBV, two structural recombinant proteins were purified for polyclonal-antibody production. By using ELISA and RT-PCR, the presence of KBV and SBV was studied comparatively in different developmental stages and castes of bees. The results demonstrated that KBV may persist as a viral genome with extremely low levels of viral-capsid proteins and that KBV and SBV can co-infect honeybees. This study indicated the presence of KBV and SBV RNAs in both queens and eggs by RT-PCR, suggesting a route of transovarial transmission. Horizontal transmission is also very likely among adult bees and from adult workers to larvae through contaminated food resources, because both viruses have been detected in all developmental stages and food sources (brood food, honey, pollen and royal jelly). Furthermore, it was demonstrated that mites were another possible route of horizontal transmission, as both viruses were detected in mites and their saliva. This study, for the first time, detected co-occurrence of viruses in varroa, further underlining the importance of the mites in vectoring different bee viruses. Therefore, these results indicated that multiple infection routes exist for honeybee viral diseases.

Animals↗
PubMed2006

The nicotinic acetylcholine receptor gene family of the honey bee, Apis mellifera.

Nicotinic acetylcholine receptors (nAChRs) mediate fast cholinergic synaptic transmission and play roles in many cognitive processes. They are under intense research as potential targets of drugs used to treat neurodegenerative diseases and neurological disorders such as Alzheimer's disease and schizophrenia. Invertebrate nAChRs are targets of anthelmintics as well as a major group of insecticides, the neonicotinoids. The honey bee, Apis mellifera, is one of the most beneficial insects worldwide, playing an important role in crop pollination, and is also a valuable model system for studies on social interaction, sensory processing, learning, and memory. We have used the A. mellifera genome information to characterize the complete honey bee nAChR gene family. Comparison with the fruit fly Drosophila melanogaster and the malaria mosquito Anopheles gambiae shows that the honey bee possesses the largest family of insect nAChR subunits to date (11 members). As with Drosophila and Anopheles, alternative splicing of conserved exons increases receptor diversity. Also, we show that in one honey bee nAChR subunit, six adenosine residues are targeted for RNA A-to-I editing, two of which are evolutionarily conserved in Drosophila melanogaster and Heliothis virescens orthologs, and that the extent of editing increases as the honey bee lifecycle progresses, serving to maximize receptor diversity at the adult stage. These findings on Apis mellifera enhance our understanding of nAChR functional genomics and provide a useful basis for the development of improved insecticides that spare a major beneficial insect species.

Alternative Splicing↗
PubMed2004

Sperm storage and antioxidative enzyme expression in the honey bee, Apis mellifera.

Honey bee (Apis mellifera) sperm remains viable in the spermatheca of mated female honey bees for several years. During this time, the sperm retains respiratory activity, placing it at risk of the damaging effects of reactive oxygen species common to many biological processes. Antioxidative enzymes might help reduce this damage. Here we use quantitative real-time RT-PCR to establish gene-expression profiles in male and female honey bee reproductive tissues for three antioxidative enzymes: catalase, glutathione-S-transferase (GST) and superoxide dismutase (SOD1, cytosolic). Catalase and GST showed ten- to twenty-fold transcript increases in the sperm storage organs of mated queens vs. unmated queens, whereas SOD1 levels are high in both mated and unmated queens. Male reproductive and somatic tissues showed relatively high levels of all three antioxidant-encoding transcripts. All three enzymes screened were higher in mature males vs. young males, although this effect did not appear to be confined to reproductive tissues and, hence, need not reflect a role in sperm longevity. Furthermore, antioxidative enzyme transcripts remained present, and apparently increased, in male tissues long after sperm had matured and seminal fluid was produced. We also found measurable levels of catalase transcripts in honey bee semen. The presence of catalase transcripts in both reproductive tissues and semen in bees suggests that this enzyme might play a key role in antioxidative protection.

Age Factors↗
PubMed1980

IgE and IgG antibodies to bee venom as measured by a modification of the RAST method.

The radioallergosorbent test (RAST) has been widely used in studying allergy to hymenoptera stings, but with variable results. We report here a modification of the RAST method which in a total of 157 bee keepers and family members, gave a close correlation between a positive RAST, and a history of generalized (100%) or localized (95%) allergic reactions. There was no positive RAST among forty-nine non-atopic control subjects but a striking finding was that 58% of non-allergic bee keepers had significant, but usually low, levels of IgE antibody to bee venom. IgG antibodies to bee venom have also been measured by a paper disc RAST which is quick and convenient. Levels were highest in non-allergic bee keepers. In the presence of high levels of IgG antibody, IgE antibody levels may be underestimated.

Animals↗
PubMed2006

Nuclear receptors of the honey bee: annotation and expression in the adult brain.

The Drosophila genome encodes 18 canonical nuclear receptors. All of the Drosophila nuclear receptors are here shown to be present in the genome of the honey bee (Apis mellifera). Given that the time since divergence of the Drosophila and Apis lineages is measured in hundreds of millions of years, the identification of matched orthologous nuclear receptors in the two genomes reveals the fundamental set of nuclear receptors required to 'make' an endopterygote insect. The single novelty is the presence in the A. mellifera genome of a third insect gene similar to vertebrate photoreceptor-specific nuclear receptor (PNR). Phylogenetic analysis indicates that this novel gene, which we have named AmPNR-like, is a new member of the NR2 subfamily not found in the Drosophila or human genomes. This gene is expressed in the developing compound eye of the honey bee. Like their vertebrate counterparts, arthropod nuclear receptors play key roles in embryonic and postembryonic development. Studies in Drosophila have focused primarily on the role of these transcription factors in embryogenesis and metamorphosis. Examination of an expressed sequence tag library developed from the adult bee brain and analysis of transcript expression in brain using in situ hybridization and quantitative RT-PCR revealed that several members of the nuclear receptor family (AmSVP, AmUSP, AmERR, AmHr46, AmFtz-F1, and AmHnf-4) are expressed in the brain of the adult bee. Further analysis of the expression of AmUSP and AmSVP in the mushroom bodies, the major insect brain centre for learning and memory, revealed changes in transcript abundance and, in the case of AmUSP, changes in transcript localization, during the development of foraging behaviour in the adult. Study of the honey bee therefore provides a model for understanding nuclear receptor function in the adult brain.

Amino Acid Sequence↗
PubMed2006

Immune pathways and defence mechanisms in honey bees Apis mellifera.

Social insects are able to mount both group-level and individual defences against pathogens. Here we focus on individual defences, by presenting a genome-wide analysis of immunity in a social insect, the honey bee Apis mellifera. We present honey bee models for each of four signalling pathways associated with immunity, identifying plausible orthologues for nearly all predicted pathway members. When compared to the sequenced Drosophila and Anopheles genomes, honey bees possess roughly one-third as many genes in 17 gene families implicated in insect immunity. We suggest that an implied reduction in immune flexibility in bees reflects either the strength of social barriers to disease, or a tendency for bees to be attacked by a limited set of highly coevolved pathogens.

Animals↗
PubMed2006

Genes of the antioxidant system of the honey bee: annotation and phylogeny.

Antioxidant enzymes perform a variety of vital functions including the reduction of life-shortening oxidative damage. We used the honey bee genome sequence to identify the major components of the honey bee antioxidant system. A comparative analysis of honey bee with Drosophila melanogaster and Anopheles gambiae shows that although the basic components of the antioxidant system are conserved, there are important species differences in the number of paralogs. These include the duplication of thioredoxin reductase and the expansion of the thioredoxin family in fly; lack of expansion of the Theta, Delta and Omega GST classes in bee and no expansion of the Sigma class in dipteran species. The differential expansion of antioxidant gene families among honey bees and dipteran species might reflect the marked differences in life history and ecological niches between social and solitary species.

Amino Acid Sequence↗
PubMed2005

Dopamine modulation of honey bee (Apis mellifera) antennal-lobe neurons.

Primary olfactory centers [antennal lobes (ALs)] of the honey bee brain are invaded by dopamine (DA)-immunoreactive neurons early in development (pupal stage 3), immediately before a period of rapid growth and compartmentalization of the AL neuropil. Here we examine the modulatory actions of DA on honey bee AL neurons during this period. Voltage-clamp recordings in whole cell configuration were used to determine the effects of DA on ionic currents in AL neurons in vitro from pupal bees at stages 4-6 of the nine stages of metamorphic adult development. In approximately 45% of the neurons tested, DA (5-50 x 10(-5) M) reduced the amplitude of outward currents in the cells. In addition to a slowly activating, sustained outward current, DA reduced the amplitude of a rapidly activating, transient outward conductance in some cells. Both of the currents modulated by DA could be abolished by the removal of Ca2+ from the external medium or by treatment of cells with charybdotoxin (2 x 10(-8) M), a blocker of Ca2+-dependent K+ currents in the cells. Ca2+ currents were not affected by DA, nor were A-type K+ currents (I(A)). Results suggest that the delayed rectifier-like current (I(KV)) also remains intact in the presence of DA. Taken together, our data indicate that Ca2+-dependent K+ currents are targets of DA modulation in honey bee AL neurons. This study lends support to the hypothesis that DA plays a role in the developing brain of the bee.

Animals↗