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Assessing the hidden potential of beeswax specimens in Natural History Museum collections

ABSTRACT: Natural history museum specimens of historical honeybees have been successfully used to explore the genomic past of the honeybee, indicating fast and rapid changes between historical and modern specimens, possibly as a response to current challenges. In our study we explore a potential untapped archive from natural history collections - specimens of beeswax. We examine an Apis mellifera mellifera queen cell specimen from the 19th century. The intact and closed cell was analysed by X-ray Computed Tomography (CT) to reveal a perfectly preserved queen bee inside her cell. Subsequently, a micro-destructive approach was used to evaluate the possibility of protein extraction from the cell. Our results show that studies on specimens such as these provide valuable information about the past rearing of queens, their diet and development, which is relevant for understanding current honeybee behaviour. In addition we evaluate the feasibility of using historical beeswax as a biomolecular archive for ancient proteins to study honeybees.

INSTRUMENT(S): Orbitrap Exploris 480

ORGANISM(S): Apis Mellifera (honeybee)

SUBMITTER: Meaghan Mackie

LAB HEAD: Matthew Collins

PROVIDER: PXD034106 | Pride | 2024-09-05

REPOSITORIES: Pride

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			Action	DRS
	20210507_EXPL2_nLC7_MEM_collab_77min_DDA_Ancient_beeswax_B1.raw	Raw
	20210507_EXPL2_nLC7_MEM_collab_77min_DDA_Ancient_beeswax_B10.raw	Raw
	20210507_EXPL2_nLC7_MEM_collab_77min_DDA_Ancient_beeswax_B11.raw	Raw
	20210507_EXPL2_nLC7_MEM_collab_77min_DDA_Ancient_beeswax_B2.raw	Raw
	20210507_EXPL2_nLC7_MEM_collab_77min_DDA_Ancient_beeswax_B3.raw	Raw

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Assessing the hidden potential of beeswax specimens in Natural History Museum collections

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