USDA-ARS Carl Hayden Bee Research Center, Tucson, AZ, 85719, USA.
Department of Entomology and Center for Insect Science, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ, 85721, USA.
Sci Rep. 2018 Jul 11;8(1):10475. doi: 10.1038/s41598-018-28732-z.
Honey bee colony nutritional ecology relies on the acquisition and assimilation of floral resources across a landscape with changing forage conditions. Here, we examined the impact of nutrition and queen age on colony health across extended periods of reduced forage in a southern climate. We measured conventional hive metrics as well as colony-level gene expression of eight immune-related genes and three recently identified homologs of vitellogenin (vg), a storage glycolipoprotein central to colony nutritional state, immunity, oxidative stress resistance and life span regulation. Across three apiary sites, concurrent longitudinal changes in colony-level gene expression and nutritional state reflected the production of diutinus (winter) bees physiologically altered for long-term nutrient storage. Brood production by young queens was significantly greater than that of old queens, and was augmented by feeding colonies supplemental pollen. Expression analyses of recently identified vg homologs (vg-like-A, -B, and -C) revealed distinct patterns that correlated with colony performance, phenology, and immune-related gene transcript levels. Our findings provide new insights into dynamics underlying managed colony performance on a large scale. Colony-level, molecular physiological profiling is a promising approach to effectively identify factors influencing honey bee health in future landscape and nutrition studies.
蜜蜂群体的营养生态依赖于在不断变化的饲料条件下，从景观中获取和同化花卉资源。在这里，我们研究了在南方气候下，长时间减少饲料对群体健康的影响。我们测量了常规蜂箱指标，以及 8 个与免疫相关的基因和 3 个最近鉴定的 vitellogenin (vg) 同源物在群体水平上的基因表达，vg 是一种储存糖脂蛋白，对群体营养状态、免疫、抗氧化应激能力和寿命调节至关重要。在三个养蜂场，群体水平上基因表达和营养状态的同步纵向变化反映了 diutinus（冬季）蜜蜂的产生，这些蜜蜂在生理上发生了改变，以便长期储存营养。年轻蜂王的幼虫生产明显大于老年蜂王的幼虫生产，而给蜂群补充花粉则会增加幼虫的生产。最近鉴定的 vg 同源物（vg-like-A、-B 和 -C）的表达分析显示出与群体表现、物候和免疫相关基因转录水平相关的独特模式。我们的发现为大规模管理群体性能提供了新的见解。群体水平的分子生理特征分析是一种很有前途的方法，可以有效地确定在未来的景观和营养研究中影响蜜蜂健康的因素。
