Xu Xinjian, Cao Mingjie, Zhu Chenyu, Mo Lingqing, Huang Huajiao, Xie Jiaying, Zhou Bingfeng, Zhou Shujing, Zhu Xiangjie
College of Bee Science and Biomedicine, Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University, Fuzhou 350002, China.
Honeybee Research Institute, Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University, Fuzhou 350002, China.
Insects. 2025 Jan 2;16(1):37. doi: 10.3390/insects16010037.
Thermal condition affects the development and growth of ectotherms. The stenothermic honeybee brood, particularly the prepupae, are sensitive to low rearing temperature. The fat body plays important roles in energy reserve and metabolism during the honeybee brood development. To date, the fat body metabolic changes in prepupae responding to cold stress have not been completely understood. In this study, the ultra-performance liquid chromatography coupled with tandem mass spectrometry (UPLC-MS/MS)-based non-target metabolome was analyzed between the cold-treated (CT, 20 °C, 36 h) and control (CK, 35 °C) fat body in prepupal honeybees. The fat body metabolomic data showed that the levels of 1860 and 254 metabolites were significantly increased and decreased, respectively, in cold-stressed prepupae. These altered metabolites, glutamine, glutamic acid, pyroglutamic acid, and oxidized glutathione, were significantly enriched into glutamine metabolism and glutathione metabolism pathways. Furthermore, the expression levels of glutamine metabolism-related genes, (), (), and ( and ), were significantly decreased in cold-exposed prepupae compared with the control groups. Meanwhile, the oxidized glutathione (GSSG), but not the reduced glutathione (GSH) content, was increased in the cold-exposed group compared with controls. Collectively, our data revealed the fat body metabolomic changes in larva-to-pupa transition when exposed to cold stress. Our data provided new insights into stenothermic honeybee sensitivity to cold, characterized by perturbation of glutamine metabolism and oxidative stress.
热条件影响变温动物的发育和生长。狭温性的蜜蜂幼虫，尤其是预蛹，对较低的饲养温度敏感。脂肪体在蜜蜂幼虫发育过程中的能量储备和代谢中发挥着重要作用。迄今为止，预蛹对冷应激的脂肪体代谢变化尚未完全了解。在本研究中，采用超高效液相色谱-串联质谱（UPLC-MS/MS）非靶向代谢组学方法，分析了冷处理（CT，20℃，36小时）和对照（CK，35℃）条件下预蛹期蜜蜂脂肪体的代谢组。脂肪体代谢组学数据显示，冷应激预蛹中分别有1860种和254种代谢物水平显著升高和降低。这些变化的代谢物，如谷氨酰胺、谷氨酸、焦谷氨酸和氧化型谷胱甘肽，显著富集到谷氨酰胺代谢和谷胱甘肽代谢途径中。此外，与对照组相比，冷暴露预蛹中谷氨酰胺代谢相关基因（）、（）和（以及）的表达水平显著降低。同时，与对照组相比，冷暴露组中氧化型谷胱甘肽（GSSG）含量增加，而还原型谷胱甘肽（GSH）含量未增加。总体而言，我们的数据揭示了蜜蜂在幼虫到蛹转变过程中暴露于冷应激时脂肪体的代谢组变化。我们的数据为狭温性蜜蜂对寒冷的敏感性提供了新的见解，其特征是谷氨酰胺代谢紊乱和氧化应激。
