Wilson-Rich Noah, Dres Stephanie T, Starks Philip T
Department of Biology, Dana Laboratories, Tufts University, Medford, MA 02155, USA.
J Insect Physiol. 2008 Oct-Nov;54(10-11):1392-9. doi: 10.1016/j.jinsphys.2008.07.016. Epub 2008 Aug 7.
Honey bees (Apis mellifera) are of vital economic and ecological importance. These eusocial animals display temporal polyethism, which is an age-driven division of labor. Younger adult bees remain in the hive and tend to developing brood, while older adult bees forage for pollen and nectar to feed the colony. As honey bees mature, the types of pathogens they experience also change. As such, pathogen pressure may affect bees differently throughout their lifespan. We provide the first direct tests of honey bee innate immune strength across developmental stages. We investigated immune strength across four developmental stages: larvae, pupae, nurses (1-day-old adults), and foragers (22-30 days old adults). The immune strength of honey bees was quantified using standard immunocompetence assays: total hemocyte count, encapsulation response, fat body quantification, and phenoloxidase activity. Larvae and pupae had the highest total hemocyte counts, while there was no difference in encapsulation response between developmental stages. Nurses had more fat body mass than foragers, while phenoloxidase activity increased directly with honey bee development. Immune strength was most vigorous in older, foraging bees and weakest in young bees. Importantly, we found that adult honey bees do not abandon cellular immunocompetence as has recently been proposed. Induced shifts in behavioral roles may increase a colony's susceptibility to disease if nurses begin foraging activity prematurely.
蜜蜂（西方蜜蜂）具有至关重要的经济和生态意义。这些群居性动物表现出时间多型行为，这是一种由年龄驱动的劳动分工。较年轻的成年蜜蜂留在蜂巢中，照料发育中的幼虫，而较年长的成年蜜蜂则外出采集花粉和花蜜来喂养蜂群。随着蜜蜂的成熟，它们所接触的病原体类型也会发生变化。因此，病原体压力在蜜蜂的整个生命周期中可能会对它们产生不同的影响。我们首次对蜜蜂在不同发育阶段的先天免疫强度进行了直接测试。我们研究了四个发育阶段的免疫强度：幼虫、蛹、保育蜂（1日龄成年蜂）和采集蜂（22 - 30日龄成年蜂）。蜜蜂的免疫强度通过标准免疫能力测定法进行量化：总血细胞计数、包囊反应、脂肪体定量和酚氧化酶活性。幼虫和蛹的总血细胞计数最高，而不同发育阶段之间的包囊反应没有差异。保育蜂的脂肪体质量比采集蜂多，而酚氧化酶活性随蜜蜂发育直接增加。免疫强度在较年长的采集蜂中最为活跃，在年轻蜜蜂中最弱。重要的是，我们发现成年蜜蜂并不会像最近所提出的那样放弃细胞免疫能力。如果保育蜂过早开始采集活动，行为角色的诱导转变可能会增加蜂群对疾病的易感性。
