Kasso Tuuli, Mackie Meaghan, Ramsøe Max, Vilhelmsen Lars, Gundlach Carsten, Baier-Stegmaier Sina, Taurozzi Alberto J, Collins Matthew J
University of Copenhagen, Globe Institute, 1353 Copenhagen, Øster Farimagsgade 5, Denmark.
University of Copenhagen, The Novo Nordisk Foundation Center for Protein Research, 2200 Copenhagen, Blegdamsvej 3b, Denmark.
Open Res Eur. 2025 Jul 8;4:227. doi: 10.12688/openreseurope.18538.2. eCollection 2024.
Natural history museum specimens of historical honey bees have been successfully used to explore the genomic past of the honey bee, indicating fast and rapid changes between historical and modern specimens, possibly as a response to current challenges. In our study we explore a potential untapped archive from natural history collections - specimens relating to historical beeswax.
We examine an queen cell specimen from the 19th century. The intact and closed cell was analysed by X-ray Computed Tomography (CT) to reveal a perfectly preserved queen bee inside her cell. Subsequently, a micro-destructive approach was used to evaluate the possibility of protein extraction for a palaeoproteomic approach.
Using proteomics by liquid-chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry, we were able to recover 120 non-contaminant proteins, mostly bee-related, including major royal jelly proteins (MRJPs) crucial for queen nutrition and development, and silk fibroin proteins. Analysis of the protein modifications indicate their endogenous source and show the presence of glycosylation. This probably helped protein preservation and allows for the study of antimicrobial and metabolic functions of bees in the past.
Our exploratory results show that studies on specimens such as these can provide biomolecular information. Such specimens can inform future research on queen development, diet, and hive conditions, providing valuable context for understanding how honey bee populations have responded to changing environments and pressures over time. This highlights further the scientific potential of natural history collections in addressing contemporary challenges in honey bee conservation and health.
历史上的蜜蜂的自然历史博物馆标本已成功用于探索蜜蜂的基因组历史，表明历史标本与现代标本之间存在快速变化，这可能是对当前挑战的一种反应。在我们的研究中，我们探索了自然历史收藏中一个潜在的未开发档案——与历史蜂蜡相关的标本。
我们检查了一个19世纪的王台标本。通过X射线计算机断层扫描（CT）对完整且封闭的王台进行分析，以揭示王台内保存完好的蜂王。随后，采用微破坏性方法评估蛋白质提取用于古蛋白质组学方法的可能性。
通过液相色谱 - 串联质谱法进行蛋白质组学分析，我们能够鉴定出120种非污染蛋白，其中大部分与蜜蜂相关，包括对蜂王营养和发育至关重要的主要蜂王浆蛋白（MRJPs）以及丝素蛋白。对蛋白质修饰的分析表明它们的内源性来源，并显示存在糖基化。这可能有助于蛋白质的保存，并允许研究过去蜜蜂的抗菌和代谢功能。
我们的探索性结果表明，对这类标本的研究可以提供生物分子信息。这些标本可以为未来关于蜂王发育、饮食和蜂巢条件的研究提供信息，为理解蜜蜂种群如何随时间应对不断变化的环境和压力提供有价值的背景。这进一步凸显了自然历史收藏在应对蜜蜂保护和健康方面当代挑战的科学潜力。
