scholarly journals Effect of yeast and essential oil-enriched diets on critical determinants of health and immune function in Africanized Apis mellifera

PeerJ ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 9 ◽  
pp. e12164
Author(s):  
César Canché-Collí ◽  
Humberto Estrella-Maldonado ◽  
Luis A. Medina-Medina ◽  
Humberto Moo-Valle ◽  
Luz Maria Calvo-Irabien ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Apis Mellifera ◽  
Food Intake ◽  
Essential Oils ◽  
Immune Function ◽  
Honey Bees ◽  
Fat Body ◽  
Control Diet ◽  
Starmerella Bombicola ◽  
Expression Of Genes ◽  
Brewers Yeast

Nutrition is vital for health and immune function in honey bees (Apis mellifera). The effect of diets enriched with bee-associated yeasts and essential oils of Mexican oregano (Lippia graveolens) was tested on survival, food intake, accumulated fat body tissue, and gene expression of vitellogenin (Vg), prophenoloxidase (proPO) and glucose oxidase (GOx) in newly emerged worker bees. The enriched diets were provided to bees under the premise that supplementation with yeasts or essential oils can enhance health variables and the expression of genes related to immune function in worker bees. Based on a standard pollen substitute, used as a control diet, enriched diets were formulated, five with added bee-associated yeasts (Starmerella bombicola, Starmerella etchellsii, Starmerella bombicola 2, Zygosaccharomyces mellis, and the brewers’ yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae) and three with added essential oils from L. graveolens (carvacrol, thymol, and sesquiterpenes). Groups of bees were fed one of the diets for 9 or 12 days. Survival probability was similar in the yeast and essential oils treatments in relation to the control, but median survival was lower in the carvacrol and sesquiterpenes treatments. Food intake was higher in all the yeast treatments than in the control. Fat body percentage in individual bees was slightly lower in all treatments than in the control, with significant decreases in the thymol and carvacrol treatments. Expression of the genes Vg, proPO, and GOx was minimally affected by the yeast treatments but was adversely affected by the carvacrol and thymol treatments.

scholarly journals Oral toxicity of essential oils and organic acids fed to honey bees (Apis mellifera)

2007 ◽  
Vol 46 (4) ◽  
pp. 220-224 ◽  
Author(s):  
Timothy A Ebert ◽  
Peter G Kevan ◽  
Bert L Bishop ◽  
Sherrene D Kevan ◽  
Roger A Downer
Keyword(s):  
Apis Mellifera ◽  
Organic Acids ◽  
Essential Oils ◽  
Honey Bees ◽  
Oral Toxicity

scholarly journals Silencing the Honey Bee (Apis mellifera) Naked Cuticle Gene (nkd) Improves Host Immune Function and Reduces Nosema ceranae Infections

2016 ◽  
Vol 82 (22) ◽  
pp. 6779-6787 ◽  
Author(s):  
Wenfeng Li ◽  
Jay D. Evans ◽  
Qiang Huang ◽  
Cristina Rodríguez-García ◽  
Jie Liu ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Apis Mellifera ◽  
Immune Function ◽  
Honey Bee ◽  
Honey Bees ◽  
Nosema Ceranae ◽  
Negative Regulator ◽  
Mrna Levels ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Bee Disease

ABSTRACTNosema ceranaeis a new and emerging microsporidian parasite of European honey bees,Apis mellifera, that has been implicated in colony losses worldwide. RNA interference (RNAi), a posttranscriptional gene silencing mechanism, has emerged as a potent and specific strategy for controlling infections of parasites and pathogens in honey bees. While previous studies have focused on the silencing of parasite/pathogen virulence factors, we explore here the possibility of silencing a host factor as a mechanism for reducing parasite load. Specifically, we used an RNAi strategy to reduce the expression of a honey bee gene,naked cuticle(nkd), which is a negative regulator of host immune function. Our studies found thatnkdmRNA levels in adult bees were upregulated byN. ceranaeinfection (and thus, the parasite may use this mechanism to suppress host immune function) and that ingestion of double-stranded RNA (dsRNA) specific tonkdefficiently silenced its expression. Furthermore, we found that RNAi-mediated knockdown ofnkdtranscripts inNosema-infected bees resulted in upregulation of the expression of several immune genes (Abaecin,Apidaecin,Defensin-1, andPGRP-S2), reduction ofNosemaspore loads, and extension of honey bee life span. The results of our studies clearly indicate that silencing the hostnkdgene can activate honey bee immune responses, suppress the reproduction ofN. ceranae, and improve the overall health of honey bees. This study represents a novel host-derived therapeutic for honey bee disease treatment that merits further exploration.IMPORTANCEGiven the critical role of honey bees in the pollination of agricultural crops, it is urgent to develop strategies to prevent the colony decline induced by the infection of parasites/pathogens. Targeting parasites and pathogens directly by RNAi has been proven to be useful for controlling infections in honey bees, but little is known about the disease impacts of RNAi silencing of host factors. Here, we demonstrate that knocking down the honey bee immune repressor-encodingnkdgene can suppress the reproduction ofN. ceranaeand improve the overall health of honey bees, which highlights the potential role of host-derived and RNAi-based therapeutics in controlling the infections in honey bees. The information obtained from this study will have positive implications for honey bee disease management practices.

scholarly journals Effect of Propolis Oral Intake on Physiological Condition of Young Worker Honey Bees, Apis Mellifera L.

2017 ◽  
Vol 61 (2) ◽  
pp. 193-202 ◽  
Author(s):  
Natalia Damiani ◽  
Martín P. Porrini ◽  
Juan P. Lancia ◽  
Estefanía Álvarez ◽  
Paula M. Garrido ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Apis Mellifera ◽  
Honey Bees ◽  
Physiological Condition ◽  
Fat Body ◽  
Oral Intake ◽  
Abdominal Fat ◽  
Research Field ◽  
Term Survival ◽  
Hypopharyngeal Glands ◽  
Fat Bodies

Abstract Honey bees collect resin from various plant species and transform it into propolis that is incorporated into the nest. The role of resins in the bee health field is poorly understood. The aim was to evaluate the effects of forced consumption of propolis on the physiological condition and short-term survival of Apis mellifera worker bees. It was tested if the number of circulating hemocytes in hemolymph, the abdominal fat bodies and the hypopharyngeal glands development were affected by the feeding with propolis extracts in laboratory conditions during the warm and the cold seasons. Propolis added to sugar candy was consumed by workers for fourteen days without affecting the bee survival. The number of circulating hemocytes in hemolymph remained constant despite the differential diet during the experiment. However, the development of fat bodies and hypopharyngeal glands was altered by propolis ingestion. The abdominal fat body development in winter bees diminished after fourteen days of propolis consumption, while it increased in summer bees. The hypopharyngeal gland development decreased for the assayed period in workers from both seasons. Our results encourage us to continue exploring this research field and learn how long-term forced ingestion of a plant-derived compound, a non-nutritive substance, can modify physiological bee parameters. A broader understanding of the multiple roles of propolis in the health of the honey bee colonies could be obtained by studying the ways in which it is processed and metabolized and the effect that generates in another physiological responses.

Virus-like particles in the fat body tissue of adult queen honey bees (Apis mellifera)

1985 ◽  
Vol 46 (3) ◽  
pp. 337-342 ◽  
Author(s):  
R.A. Nunamaker ◽  
C.E. Nunamaker ◽  
W.T. Wilson ◽  
B.R. Francis
Keyword(s):  
Apis Mellifera ◽  
Honey Bees ◽  
Fat Body ◽  
Body Tissue ◽  
Virus Like Particles

scholarly journals Tissue-specific transcriptional patterns underlie seasonal phenotypes in honey bees (Apis mellifera)

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sean Bresnahan ◽  
Mehmet Döke ◽  
Tugrul Giray ◽  
Christina Grozinger
Keyword(s):  
Apis Mellifera ◽  
Honey Bees ◽  
Flight Muscle ◽  
Fat Body ◽  
Expression Patterns ◽  
Flight Activity ◽  
Insect Species ◽  
Tissue Specific ◽  
Transcriptional Profiles ◽  
Specific Regulation

Faced with adverse conditions, such as winter in temperate regions or hot and dry conditions in tropical regions, many insect species enter a state of diapause, a period of dormancy associated with a reduction or arrest of physical activity, development, and reproduction. Changes in common physiological pathways underlie diapause phenotypes in different insect species. However, most transcriptomic studies of diapause have not simultaneously evaluated and compared expression patterns in different tissues. Honey bees (Apis mellifera) represent a unique model system to study the mechanisms underpinning diapause. In winter, honey bees exhibit a classic diapause phenotype, with reduced metabolic activity, increased physiological nutritional resources, and altered hormonal profiles. However, winter bees actively heat their colony by vibrating their wing muscles; thus, this tissue is not quiescent. Here, we evaluated the transcriptional profiles of flight muscle tissue and fat body tissue (involved in nutrient storage, metabolism and immune function) of winter bees. We also evaluated two behavioral phenotypes of summer bees: nurses, which exhibit high nutritional stores and low flight activity, and foragers, which exhibit low nutritional stores and high flight activity. We found winter bees and nurses have similar fat body transcriptional profiles compared to foragers, whereas winter bees and foragers have similar flight muscle transcriptional profiles compared to nurses. Additionally, differentially expressed genes were enriched in diapause-related GO terms. Thus, honey bees exhibit tissue-specific transcriptional profiles associated with diapause, laying the groundwork for future studies evaluating the mechanisms, evolution, and consequences of this tissue-specific regulation.

scholarly journals Effects of Lippia sidoides Cham. (Verbenaceae) essential oils on the honey bees, Apis mellifera (Apidae: Hymenoptera), foraging

2019 ◽  
Vol 36 (E) ◽  
pp. 31-41
Author(s):  
Izabella M. C. Pinheiro ◽  
João Henrique S. Luz ◽  
Luis Flávio N. Souza ◽  
Ana Cláudia Oliveira ◽  
Eugênio E. Oliveira ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Apis Mellifera ◽  
Essential Oil ◽  
Essential Oils ◽  
Honey Bees ◽  
Exposure Period ◽  
Plant Essential Oils ◽  
Lippia Sidoides ◽  
Consumption Rates ◽  
Oil Concentration ◽  
Significant Mortality

The use of plant essential oils has been adopted as less hazardous to the environment and human health than synthetic insecticides used for the control of insects that transmit diseases. Despite of exerting insecticidal activities against several insect disease vectors, the potential impacts on non-target organisms exerted by essential oils extracted from Lippia sidoides (Cham.) have not received adequate attention. Here, we evaluated the susceptibility and potential changes in consumption rates of honey bees, Apis mellifera (L.), when exposed to essential oils extracted from L. sidoides. Was exposed forager bees to honey syrup (50% v/v) containing L. sidoides essential oil for 5 h. After this exposure period, the bees received regular honey syrup for another 19 h period. Six essential oil concentrations was used, namely 1.0, 1.5, 2.0, 2.5, 3.0 and 3.5 µL of essential oil/mL of syrup, and evaluated the syrup consumption and bees mortality in both periods (at the 5th and 24th h). The results reveal that independent of the essential oil concentration, the forager bees fed significantly less on L. sidoides essential oil-containing honey syrup. However, feeding on L. sidoides essential oil-containing honey syrup did not cause significant mortality when compared with bees that were not exposed to the essential oils. Thus, the results demonstrate that L. sidoides essential oils exhibited adequate selectivity against honey bees.

scholarly journals INFLUENCE OF IMIDACLOPRIDE ON THE IMMUNITY OF HONEY BEES (APIS MELLIFERA L.)

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
E.S. Saltykova ◽  
◽  
L.R. Gaifullina ◽  
A.V. Poskryakov ◽  
A.G. Nikolenko ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Apis Mellifera ◽  
Honey Bees ◽  
Fat Body ◽  
Lethal Dose ◽  
Significant Proportion ◽  
Phenol Oxidase ◽  
Oxygen Species ◽  
Phenol Oxidase Activity ◽  
The Individual ◽  
Individual Immunity

The effect of the neonicotinoid, which is the most toxic for bees, on the components of the individual immunity of Apis mellifera L. workers, was studied. It was shown that a non-lethal dose of imidacloprid caused pathological changes in the intestine and fat body cells, the insect's reaction to its own decaying cells and tissues, aggregation, adhesion and lysis of granulocytes that removes a significant proportion of protective cells from the bloodstream, the generation of reactive oxygen species under the inhibition of phenol oxidase activity in hemocytes.

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