Tapia-Rivera José Carlos, Tapia-González José María, Alburaki Mohamed, Chan Philene, Sánchez-Cordova Rogelio, Macías-Macías José Octavio, Corona Miguel
Centro de Investigaciones en Abejas, Centro Universitario del Sur, Universidad de Guadalajara, Guadalajara 44100, Mexico.
Honey Bee Research Laboratory, United States Department of Agriculture, Beltsville, MD 20705, USA.
Insects. 2025 Apr 2;16(4):375. doi: 10.3390/insects16040375.
Pollen is bees' primary source of proteins. Using pollen substitutes could reduce colony losses in areas with limited floral resources. In this study, we compared the effects of pollen substitutes made from intact proteins versus free amino acids on bee survival, as well as the levels of vitellogenin (), major royal jelly protein 1 (), and deformed wing virus (DWV). Our study revealed no significant differences in mRNA levels between bees fed intact protein and free amino acid diets. However, mRNA levels were higher in bees fed free amino acid diets, suggesting that the availability of amino acids affects the expression of this nutritionally regulated gene differently. Thus, the combined expression of and could be used to assess the nutritional value of different pollen substitutes. Our results also indicate that bees fed diets rich in free amino acids exhibited high levels of DWV and increased mortality during the first week, even though they showed a high expression of genes related to good nutrition. In contrast, bees fed an intact protein diet showed the lowest DWV levels during the first two weeks, although viral infection increased afterward. These results suggest that ingested free amino acids are quickly absorbed in the intestine, transported in the hemolymph, and taken up by cells, where they can facilitate viral replication. On the other hand, ingested intact proteins may undergo slower digestion and gradual release of amino acids in the hemolymph, which may not trigger an overt DWV infection. Possible interactions among mites, DWV infection, and nutrition are also discussed.
花粉是蜜蜂蛋白质的主要来源。在花卉资源有限的地区使用花粉替代品可以减少蜂群损失。在本研究中，我们比较了由完整蛋白质制成的花粉替代品与游离氨基酸对蜜蜂存活率的影响，以及卵黄蛋白原、主要蜂王浆蛋白1和残翅病毒（DWV）的水平。我们的研究表明，喂食完整蛋白质和游离氨基酸日粮的蜜蜂之间， mRNA水平没有显著差异。然而，喂食游离氨基酸日粮的蜜蜂中 mRNA水平较高，这表明氨基酸的可利用性对这个受营养调节基因的表达有不同影响。因此， 和 的联合表达可用于评估不同花粉替代品的营养价值。我们的结果还表明，喂食富含游离氨基酸日粮的蜜蜂在第一周表现出高水平的DWV和死亡率增加，尽管它们显示出与良好营养相关基因的高表达。相比之下，喂食完整蛋白质日粮的蜜蜂在前两周DWV水平最低，尽管之后病毒感染增加。这些结果表明，摄入的游离氨基酸在肠道中迅速吸收，在血淋巴中运输，并被细胞摄取，在细胞中它们可以促进病毒复制。另一方面，摄入的完整蛋白质可能消化较慢，氨基酸在血淋巴中逐渐释放，这可能不会引发明显的DWV感染。还讨论了 螨、DWV感染和营养之间可能的相互作用。
