Conservation of honey bee (Apis mellifera) sperm phospholipids during storage in the bee queen — A TLC/MALDI–TOF MS study

A scientific note on DNA fragmentation rates in sperm collected from drones and spermathecae of queens of different age, with possible implications on the scattered brood phenomenon

“…This indicates that sperm in queens' spermathecae is well nourished and aerated and storage does not increase the proportion of sperm DNA fragmentation (SDF). Similar conclusions were formulated by Collins et al (2004), Klenk et al (2004), Baer et al (2009), Poland et al (2011), Holman et al (2011) and Wegener et al (2013). They found that long-term storage of spermatozoa by social insects maintains the high molecular and physiological quality of the cells.…”

Insights into the molecular basis of long-term storage and survival of sperm in the honeybee (Apis mellifera)

“…For example, sperm and spermathecal fluid are enriched with antioxidant proteins1820 and antioxidant protection of sperm within the spermatheca has previously been hypothesised to be important for honeybee sperm longevity30. Abundance of transcripts for antioxidant enzymes and enzymatic antioxidant activity are both higher in spermathecae of mated compared to virgin queens3031 and sperm phospholipids are indeed shown to be protected from oxidation during storage32.…”

Metabolite Support of Long-Term Storage of Sperm in the Spermatheca of Honeybee (Apis mellifera) Queens

“…A total of 68 GPCs and 41 glycerophospho-ethanolamines (GPEs) were obtained, which were the most abundant metabolites regardless of whether the putative compounds were prefixed with lysopc/pc or lysope/pe. Wegener et al (2013) report that the lipids in drone sperm are dominated by two GPC species with small amounts of sphingomyelins and GPEs also detected. They found the composition of sperm lipids does not change even when stored for years (Wegener et al, 2013).…”