Regulation of oogenesis in the queen honey bee (<i>Apis mellifera</i>)

Aamidor, Sarah E.; Cj, Cardoso; Harianto, Januar; Nowell, Cameron J.; Cole, Louise; Oldroyd, Benjamin P.; Ronai, Isobel

doi:10.1101/2021.03.08.434480

Cited by 2 publications

(1 citation statement)

References 81 publications

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“…Naeger et al [ 51 ] and Peso et al [ 47 ] added that the higher Vg levels in workers of queenless colonies support ovarian activity and the functioning of hypopharyngeal glands as well as exerting influence on active foraging. In workers, investing in oocyte production before vitellogenesis, when there is no prospect of producing offspring, is wasteful since it is the costliest stage of oogenesis [ 52 , 53 , 54 ]. But for rebels, when the queen is absent or lost, it is a necessary step, and therefore their Vg levels are higher compared to normal workers.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Humoral and Cellular Defense Mechanisms in Rebel Workers of Apis mellifera

Strachecka

Migdał

Kuszewska

et al. 2021

Biology

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The physiological state of an insect depends on efficiently functioning immune mechanisms such as cellular and humoral defenses. However, compounds participating in these mechanisms also regulate reproductive caste formation and are responsible for reproductive division of labor as well as for labor division in sterile workers. Divergent reaction of the same genotype yielding reproductive queens and worker castes led to shaping of the physiological and behavioral plasticity of sterile or reproductive workers. Rebels that can lay eggs while maintaining tasks inside and outside the colony exhibit both queen and worker traits. So, we expected that the phagocytic index, JH3 titer, and Vg concentration would be higher in rebels than in normal workers and would increase with their age. We also assumed that the numbers of oenocytes and their sizes would be greater in rebels than in normal workers. The rebels and the normal workers were collected at the age of 1, 7, 14, and 21 days, respectively. Hemolymph and fat bodies were collected for biochemical and morphological analyses. The high levels of JH, Vg, and the phagocytic index, as well as increased numbers and sizes of oenocytes in the fat body cells demonstrate the physiological and phenotypic adaptation of rebels to the eusocial life of honeybees.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Humoral and Cellular Defense Mechanisms in Rebel Workers of Apis mellifera

Strachecka

Migdał

Kuszewska

et al. 2021

Biology

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Queen quality, performance, and winter survival of imported and domestic honey bee queen stocks

Holmes,

Ovinge,

Kearns

et al. 2023

Sci Rep

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Canadian beekeepers have faced high colony mortality each winter over the last decade. Frequently citing “poor queen quality” as a top contributing factor to colony loss, Canadian beekeepers report needing to replace half their queens each year. Domestic queen production exists throughout Canada but is limited due to the short season and can be further limited when colony mortality is high. Consequently, Canadian beekeepers import over 260,000 queens annually, primarily from locations with warmer climates. In this study, newly mated imported queens from Hawaii (USA) and New Zealand were compared to domestic Canadian queens produced in British Columbia; these stocks were evaluated on their morphological and sperm storage characteristics. Stock quality was also evaluated in the field at two locations in Alberta, Canada over two production seasons. Our results show initial variation in queen morphology and fertility among imported and domestic queen stocks. Most striking, the New Zealand queens weighed 10–13% less than the Hawaii and British Columbia queens, respectively upon arrival. Colony performance over a two-year field study suggests: (1) brood pattern solidness has a positive nonlinear correlation with honey production regardless of queen stock and environment; (2) environment (i.e., apiary location) and queen stock variably predict colony health and productivity depending on year; specifically, apiary site appears to be a stronger predictor of colony health and productivity than queen stock in year one, but in year two, queen stock appears to be a stronger predictor than apiary site; (3) high clinical symptoms of chalkbrood may explain the prevalence of poor brood patterns in colonies headed by queens from New Zealand; (4) domestic queens are 25% more likely to survive winter in Alberta than imported queens. Therefore, it is important to consider possible mismatches in disease immunity and climate conditioning of imported queen stocks heading colonies in temperate regions that face drastically different seasonal climates and disease ecology dynamics.

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Regulation of oogenesis in the queen honey bee (Apis mellifera)

Cited by 2 publications

References 81 publications

Humoral and Cellular Defense Mechanisms in Rebel Workers of Apis mellifera

Humoral and Cellular Defense Mechanisms in Rebel Workers of Apis mellifera

Queen quality, performance, and winter survival of imported and domestic honey bee queen stocks

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