Chakrabarti Priyadarshini, Sagili Ramesh R
Department of Horticulture, Oregon State University, Corvallis, OR 97331, USA.
Insects. 2020 Oct 29;11(11):743. doi: 10.3390/insects11110743.
Phytosterols are important micronutrients that are precursors of important molting hormones and help maintain cellular membrane integrity in insects including bees. Previous research has shown that 24-methylenecholesterol is a key phytosterol that enhances honey bee longevity and improves nurse bee physiology. Nurse bees have the ability to selectively transfer this sterol to developing larvae through brood food. This study examines the physiological impacts of 24-methylenecholesterol on nurse bees, by analyzing the protein profiles of nurse bee heads upon dietary sterol manipulation. Dietary experimental groups consisting of newly emerged honey bees were provided with varying concentrations of 24-methylenecholesterol for three weeks. At the end of the study, honey bees were collected and proteomic analysis was performed on honey bee heads. A total of 1715 proteins were identified across experimental groups. The mean relative abundances of nutritional marker proteins (. major royal jelly proteins 1, 4, 5, 7) were higher in experimental groups supplemented with higher dietary sterol concentrations, when compared with the control dietary group. The mean relative abundances of important enzymatic proteins (aminopeptidase and calcium-transporting ATPase) were higher in control groups, whereas mean relative abundances of oxysterol-binding protein and fatty acid-binding protein were higher in higher dietary sterol groups.
植物甾醇是重要的微量营养素，是重要蜕皮激素的前体，有助于维持包括蜜蜂在内的昆虫细胞膜的完整性。先前的研究表明，24-亚甲基胆固醇是一种关键的植物甾醇，可延长蜜蜂寿命并改善哺育蜂的生理状态。哺育蜂有能力通过幼虫食物将这种甾醇选择性地转移给发育中的幼虫。本研究通过分析膳食甾醇处理后哺育蜂头部的蛋白质谱，研究24-亚甲基胆固醇对哺育蜂的生理影响。由新羽化的蜜蜂组成的膳食实验组被给予不同浓度的24-亚甲基胆固醇，持续三周。在研究结束时，收集蜜蜂并对其头部进行蛋白质组分析。各实验组共鉴定出1715种蛋白质。与对照膳食组相比，补充较高膳食甾醇浓度的实验组中营养标记蛋白（主要蜂王浆蛋白1、4、5、7）的平均相对丰度更高。对照组中重要酶蛋白（氨肽酶和钙转运ATP酶）的平均相对丰度更高，而在较高膳食甾醇组中氧化甾醇结合蛋白和脂肪酸结合蛋白的平均相对丰度更高。
