INRAE, UR 406 Abeilles et Environnement, Avignon, France.
INRAE, UR 1115 Plantes et Systèmes de Culture Horticoles, Avignon, France.
PLoS One. 2023 Feb 21;18(2):e0282120. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0282120. eCollection 2023.
Chemical communication is a widely used mode of communication for social insects and has been demonstrated to be involved in many behaviours and physiological processes such as reproduction, nutrition or the fight against parasites and pathogens. In the honey bee, Apis mellifera, the release of chemical compounds by the brood plays a role in worker behaviour, physiology, and foraging activities and colony health as a whole. Several compounds have already been described as brood pheromones, such as components of the brood ester pheromone and (E)-β-ocimene. Several other compounds originating from diseased or varroa-infested brood cells have been described as triggering the hygienic behaviour of workers. So far, studies of brood emissions have focused on specific stages of development and little is known about the emission of volatile organic compounds by the brood. In this study, we investigate the semiochemical profile of worker honey bee brood during its whole developmental cycle, from egg to emergence, with a specific focus on volatile organic compounds. We describe variation in emissions of thirty-two volatile organic compounds between brood stages. We highlight candidate compounds that are particularly abundant in specific stages and discuss their potential biological significance.
化学通讯是社会性昆虫广泛使用的一种通讯方式，它被证明参与了许多行为和生理过程，如繁殖、营养或对抗寄生虫和病原体。在蜜蜂中，Apis mellifera，幼虫释放的化合物在工蜂行为、生理和觅食活动以及整个蜂群健康中起着重要作用。已经有几种化合物被描述为幼虫信息素，如幼虫酯信息素的成分和(E)-β-罗勒烯。还有几种来自患病或受瓦螨感染的幼虫细胞的化合物被描述为触发工蜂的卫生行为。到目前为止，对幼虫排放物的研究主要集中在发育的特定阶段，而对幼虫排放的挥发性有机化合物知之甚少。在这项研究中，我们研究了工蜂幼虫在整个发育周期（从卵到出蜂）的半化学特征，重点是挥发性有机化合物。我们描述了 32 种挥发性有机化合物在幼虫阶段之间排放的变化。我们强调了在特定阶段特别丰富的候选化合物，并讨论了它们潜在的生物学意义。
