Lei Li, Song Hongyu, Liu Zhenguo, Zhang Ge, Wang Ying, Xu Baohua
College of Animal Science and Technology, Shandong Agricultural University, Tai'an 271018, China.
Insects. 2025 Jun 21;16(7):650. doi: 10.3390/insects16070650.
Abiotic stressors threaten honeybee health, jeopardizing pollination services critical to agriculture and biodiversity. Here, we identified the gene, which encodes a member of the low-density lipoprotein receptor family, and examined its function in the response of to adverse abiotic stress. exhibited peak expression in adult workers and was significantly upregulated under heat, cold, heavy metal, and pesticide exposure. RNAi-mediated knockdown of suppressed antioxidant enzyme activities, elevated the levels of oxidative damage markers, and downregulated antioxidant gene expression. Crucially, silencing reduced survival under HO-induced oxidative stress, indicating its essential role in stress resilience. Our findings highlight as a key regulator of antioxidant defense during development and environmental adaptation in . This study provides mechanistic insights into bee stress physiology and proposes as a novel target for enhancing pollinator protection strategies. Further research should elucidate its molecular pathways and translational applications in mitigating abiotic stress impacts.
非生物应激源威胁蜜蜂健康，危及对农业和生物多样性至关重要的授粉服务。在此，我们鉴定了编码低密度脂蛋白受体家族成员的基因，并研究了其在应对不利非生物应激中的功能。该基因在成年工蜂中表达峰值明显，在热、冷、重金属和农药暴露下显著上调。RNA干扰介导的该基因敲低抑制了抗氧化酶活性，提高了氧化损伤标志物水平，并下调了抗氧化基因表达。至关重要的是，该基因沉默降低了过氧化氢诱导的氧化应激下的存活率，表明其在应激恢复力中的重要作用。我们的研究结果突出了该基因作为蜜蜂发育和环境适应过程中抗氧化防御的关键调节因子。本研究为蜜蜂应激生理学提供了机制性见解，并提出该基因作为增强传粉者保护策略的新靶点。进一步的研究应阐明其分子途径及其在减轻非生物应激影响方面的转化应用。
