Pollen consumption and utilization in worker honeybees (Apis mellifera carnica): Dependence on individual age and function

Crailsheim, Karl; Schneider, Lothar; Hrassnigg, Norbert; Bühlmann, G.; Brosch, U.; Gmeinbauer, R.; Schöffmann, B.

doi:10.1016/0022-1910(92)90117-v

Cited by 328 publications

(310 citation statements)

References 36 publications

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“…The high amount of cell proliferation in young workers may be driven by a high digestive activity because these young workers serve a prime digestive role in the honeybee society by converting pollen into highly nutritious, processed glandular secretions that are then fed to larvae, other workers, drones, and queens ( [Crailsheim et al, 1992] and [Crailsheim, 1998]). Pollen is difficult to digest (Crailsheim, 1990) because the proteinaceous pollen grain interior is protected by a tough, cuticularized pollen wall of complex structure (Roulston and Cane, 2000).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…But cell proliferation has been observed in adult insect tissues ( [Cayre et al, 1994] and [Corley and Lavine, 2006]) and the insect intestine in particular is characterized by high levels of regenerative stem cell proliferation (Ohlstein and Spradling, 2006). Furthermore, an age-related decline in digestive efficiency in honeybees has been reported (Crailsheim et al, 1992). This makes replicative cell senescence potentially relevant for aging in insects and provides a possible explanation for natural telomere length differences in insects that are related to lifespan differences (Jemielity et al, 2007).…”

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confidence: 99%

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Age, caste, and behavior determine the replicative activity of intestinal stem cells in honeybees (Apis mellifera L.)

Ward

Coleman

Clinnin

et al. 2008

Experimental Gerontology

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Abstract:Honeybees (Apis mellifera L.) display a pronounced natural aging plasticity. The differences in aging rates between the alternative phenotypes and behavioral classes could reflect differences in protection against damage or in the ability to repair vulnerable tissues. As in other animals, including humans, the gut is continually exposed to environmental insults and harbors a large population of replicating stem cells that maintain the intestinal epithelium. Through studies of the major internal organs using incorporation and immunodetection of the mitotic marker bromodeoxyuridine, the intestine was determined to be the main site of tissue renewal in adult honeybees. Proliferative activity of the intestinal stem cells was compared among queens, workers, and males of different ages. Simultaneous attempts to assess intestinal cell loss via apoptosis yielded inconclusive results. The relationship between intestinal cell proliferation and worker life-history was evaluated in greater depth by studying diutinus winter workers, reproductive workers, and by decoupling worker behavioral status from chronological age in a single-cohort colony. Intestinal cell proliferation was abundant in all groups and showed an agerelated decline in workers, queens, and males. At young ages, workers exhibited relatively more intestinal cell proliferation than did queens and queens more than drones, but the caste and sex differences decreased with age. Cell proliferation did not decrease beyond 6 weeks of age in older queens and in diutinus workers. Ovary activation did not correlate with the amount of intestinal stem cell proliferation in workers, although the queenless hive condition was associated with lower overall counts. In the single-cohort colony, nurse bees exhibited more cell proliferation than foragers, regardless of age. The overall results do not support our hypothesis that longer-lived phenotypes exhibit increased somatic repair in the form of higher replicative activity of intestinal stem cells. Instead, the observed proliferation patterns reflect differential demands for digestive activity in the different groups, which result in different requirements for replacement of lost intestinal cells. The maintenance of proliferative capacity for over 1 year suggests that queen intestinal stem cells have a relatively high replicative potential, but further studies are needed to relate honeybee lifespan differences to cellular aging.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Age, caste, and behavior determine the replicative activity of intestinal stem cells in honeybees (Apis mellifera L.)

Ward

Coleman

Clinnin

et al. 2008

Experimental Gerontology

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“…Returning pollen foragers deposit their loads directly into empty cells or cells containing pollen close to the area of the nest where the young larvae are raised. Stored pollen is consumed by nurse bees that convert it into the proteinaceous secretions of the hypopharyngeal glands (Crailsheim et al, 1992). Stored pollen inhibits pollen foraging, while pheromones produced by larvae (methyl palmitate, methyl stearate, methyl linoleate, methyl linolenate, methyl oleate, ethyl palmitate, ethyl stearate, ethyl linoleate, ethyl linolenate, and ethyl oleate) (Slessor et al, 2005) stimulate pollen foraging (Fewell and Winston, 1992;Pankiw et al, 1998).…”

Section: Colony Homeostasismentioning

confidence: 99%

Order, Disorder, Death: Lessons from a Superorganism

Amdam¹,

Seehuus²

2006

Advances in Cancer Research

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Animal models contribute to the understanding of molecular mechanism of cancer, revealing complex roles of altered cellular-signaling networks and deficient surveillance systems. Analogous pathologies are documented in an unconventional model organism that receives attention in research on systems theory, evolution, and aging. The honeybee (Apis mellifera) colony is an advanced integrative unit, a "superorganism" in which order is controlled via complex signaling cascades and surveillance schemes. A facultatively sterile caste, the workers, regulates patterns of growth, differentiation, homeostasis, and death. Workers differentiate into temporal phenotypes in response to dynamic social cues; chemosensory signals that can translate into dramatic physiological responses, including programmed cell death. Temporal worker forms function together, and effectively identify and terminate abnormal colony members ranging from embryos to adults. As long as this regulatory system is operational at a colony level, the unit survives and propagates. However, if the worker phenotypes that collectively govern order become too few or change into malignant forms that bypass control mechanisms to replicate aberrantly; order is replaced by disorder that ultimately leads to the destruction of the society. In this chapter we describe fundamental properties of honeybee social organization, and explore conditions that lead to states of disorder. Our hope is that this chapter will be an inspirational source for ongoing and future work in the field of cancer research.

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“…Pollen is the main protein source for bees (Crailsheim, 1990;Crailsheim et al, 1992), and it also provides lipids, vitamins, minerals, starch, and some sugars (Winston, 1987). Nectar contains relatively low levels of protein (Baker and Baker, 1986), and therefore it is mainly through pollen that honey bees might come into contact with transgenic products, if the transgene is expressed in the pollen.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Large quantities of pollen are collected by adults bees to provide the larvae with food, but also for their own consumption (Crailsheim et al, 1992;Haydak, 1963). The young honey bee larvae (up to 3.5 days old) are fed with royal jelly produced in the hypopharyngeal glands of nursing bees (Crailsheim, 1990) and is almost completely without pollen (Planta, 1988in: Haydak, 1943.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Does pea lectin expressed transgenically in oilseed rape (Brassica napus) influence honey bee (Apis mellifera) larvae?

Lehrman

2007

Environ. Biosafety Res.

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The European honey bee (Apis mellifera) is important both for pollination and for honey production. Pollen is the major protein source for bees, which exposes them directly to changes in pollen quality e.g. through genetic engineering. In order to create a worst case scenario regarding pea lectin (PSL) expressed transgenically in oilseed rape anthers and pollen, the maximum amount of dried pollen that could be mixed in an artificial diet without negatively affecting larval performance (1.5% w/w) was fed to bee larvae. Pollen from two transgenic plant lines expressing PSL up to 1.2% of total soluble protein and pollen from one non-transgenic line was added to the same diet and used as a pollen control. When these three pollen diets and the control diet (without added pollen) were compared, no negative effect from the pollen of the transgenic plants could be detected on larval mortality, weight, or development time. An increased weight and a reduced developmental time were recorded for larvae on all diets containing pollen when compared to the diet without pollen.

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Pollen consumption and utilization in worker honeybees (Apis mellifera carnica): Dependence on individual age and function

Cited by 328 publications

References 36 publications

Age, caste, and behavior determine the replicative activity of intestinal stem cells in honeybees (Apis mellifera L.)

Age, caste, and behavior determine the replicative activity of intestinal stem cells in honeybees (Apis mellifera L.)

Order, Disorder, Death: Lessons from a Superorganism

Does pea lectin expressed transgenically in oilseed rape (Brassica napus) influence honey bee (Apis mellifera) larvae?

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