Thermal stress induces tissue damage and a broad shift in regenerative signaling pathways in the honey bee intestine

ABSTRACT: Honey bee colonies in the United States have suffered from a higher than usual rate of die-off in the last few years with a complex set of interacting stresses playing a key role. With changing climate, an increase in the frequency of severe weather events, such as heat waves, is anticipated and understanding how these changes may contribute to stress in the bee is of crucial. Individual honey bees appear to have a high capacity to endure thermal stress. One reason for this high-level endurance is likely their robust HSR which contributes to thermotolerance at the cellular level. To elucidate other determinants of this resilience, we used thermal stress coupled with RNAseq and identified broad transcriptional remodeling of a number of key signaling pathways in the honey bee in response to tissue damage, including those pathways known to be involved in digestive tract regeneration in the fruit fly such as the Hippo and JAK-STAT pathways. We also observe cell death and shedding of epithelial cells, which likely leads to induction of this regenerative program. We found that thermal stress affects many of these pathways in other tissues, suggesting a shared program of damage response. In addition to allowing for important foundational characterization of damage response program in this key pollinating species, this study suggest that a robust regeneration program may also be a critical contributor to thermotolerance at the tissue level.

ORGANISM(S): Apis mellifera

PROVIDER: GSE159083 | GEO | 2021/09/08

REPOSITORIES: GEO