Diet effects on honeybee immunocompetence

Abstract

The maintenance of the immune system can be costly, and a lack of dietary protein can increase the susceptibility of organisms to disease. However, few studies have investigated the relationship between protein nutrition and immunity in insects. Here, we tested in honeybees (Apis mellifera) whether dietary protein quantity (monofloral pollen) and diet diversity (polyfloral pollen) can shape baseline immunocompetence (IC) by measuring parameters of individual immunity (haemocyte concentration, fat body content and phenoloxidase activity) and glucose oxidase (GOX) activity, which enables bees to sterilize colony and brood food, as a parameter of social immunity. Protein feeding modified both individual and social IC but increases in dietary protein quantity did not enhance IC. However, diet diversity increased IC levels. In particular, polyfloral diets induced higher GOX activity compared with monofloral diets, including protein-richer diets. These results suggest a link between protein nutrition and immunity in honeybees and underscore the critical role of resource availability on pollinator health.

Resistance of developing honeybee larvae during chronic exposure to dietary nicotine

“…For example, higher protein may benefit insects that need to upregulate their P450 enzymes and other detoxification pathways. In adult honeybees, Wahl and Ulm (1983) showed that the quality of pollens fed to young bees affected their subsequent response to pesticides, and Alaux et al (2010b) found effects of pollen diets on immunocompetence. The resistance of laboratoryreared larvae to fungal parasites in the genus Aspergillus is enhanced by supplementing the diet with pollen if the royal jelly component of the larval diets is reduced (Foley et al, 2012).…”

Integrating nutrition and immunology: A new frontier

“…The results of Lee et al (2006) and Povey et al (2009) indicate that dietary protein is a key nutritional component affecting immunity (see also (Alaux et al, 2010;Fellous and Lazzaro, 2010;Peck et al, 1992), and that caterpillars are able to self-medicate for infection by selecting a dietary composition that best supports immune defense (see also Singer et al, 2009). …”

Transcriptional signatures of parasitization and markers of colony decline in Varroa-infested honey bees (Apis mellifera)

“…In order to develop sustainable solutions, the genetic mechanisms that allow honey bees to detect Varroa infested brood and remove diseased larvae Gilliam, 1998a, 1998b) or to tolerate Varroa parasitization without experiencing negative effects (Martin and Medina, 2004;Navajas et al, 2008) have been studied. Other approaches aimed at mitigating the effects of mite infestation on the bees through supplementary nutrition or other external inputs, that may compensate the detrimental effect of the mite (Alaux et al, 2010), have also yielded promising results.…”