Mayack Christopher, Cook Sarah E, Niño Bernardo D, Rivera Laura, Niño Elina L, Seshadri Arathi
USDA/ARS/WRRC, Invasive Species and Pollinator Health Research Unit, Davis, CA 95616, USA.
SpecialtyVETPATH, 3450 16th Ave. W. Ste 303, Seattle, WA 98119, USA.
Insects. 2023 Aug 4;14(8):689. doi: 10.3390/insects14080689.
Climate change-related extreme weather events have manifested in the western United States as warmer and drier conditions with an increased risk of wildfires. Honeybees, essential for crop pollination in California, are at the center of these extreme weather events. We associated the maximum daily temperature and air quality index values with the performance of colonies placed in wildfire-prone areas and determined the impact of these abiotic stressors on gene expression and histopathology. Our results indicate that poor air quality was associated with higher maximum daily temperatures and a lower gene expression level of Prophenoloxidase (), which is tied to immune system strength; however, a higher gene expression level of Vitellogenin () is tied to oxidative stress. There was a positive relationship between mites and pathogen loads, and a negative correlation between mites and Heat Shock Protein 70 () gene expression, suggesting the limited ability of mite-infested colonies to buffer against extreme temperatures. Histological analyses did not reveal overt signs of interaction between pathology and abiotic stressors, but infections were evident. Our study provides insights into interactions between abiotic stressors, their relation to common biotic stressors, and the expression of genes related to immunity and oxidative stress in bees.
与气候变化相关的极端天气事件在美国西部表现为气候变暖和干燥，野火风险增加。蜜蜂对加利福尼亚州的作物授粉至关重要，处于这些极端天气事件的中心。我们将每日最高温度和空气质量指数值与放置在易发生野火地区的蜂群性能相关联，并确定了这些非生物应激源对基因表达和组织病理学的影响。我们的结果表明，空气质量差与每日最高温度较高以及与免疫系统强度相关的酚氧化酶原（Prophenoloxidase）基因表达水平较低有关；然而，卵黄蛋白原（Vitellogenin）基因表达水平较高与氧化应激有关。螨虫与病原体负荷之间存在正相关，螨虫与热休克蛋白70（Heat Shock Protein 70）基因表达之间存在负相关，这表明受螨虫侵扰的蜂群缓冲极端温度的能力有限。组织学分析未发现病理学与非生物应激源之间相互作用的明显迹象，但感染很明显。我们的研究提供了对非生物应激源之间的相互作用、它们与常见生物应激源的关系以及蜜蜂中与免疫和氧化应激相关基因表达的见解。
