Project description:We have identified a honeybee (Apis mellifera) odorant receptor (Or) for the queen substance 9-oxo-2-decenoic acid (9-ODA) from four candidate sex pheromone odorant receptors from the honeybee genome based on their biased expression in drone antennae. Keywords: Tissue Comparison
Project description:Apis mellifera syriaca is the native honeybee subspecies of Jordan and much of the Middle East. It expresses behavioral adaptations to a regional climate with very high temperatures, nectar dearth in summer, attacks of the Oriental wasp Vespa orientalis and in most cases it is resistant to varroa mites. The Thorax control sample of A. m. syriaca in this experiment was originally collected and stored since 2001 from Wadi Ben Hammad a remote valley in the southern region of Jordan. Using morphometric and Mitochondrial DNA markers it was proved that bees from this area had show higher similarity than other samples collected from the Middle East as represented by reference samples collected in 1952 by Brother Adam. The samples L1-L5 are collected from the National Center for Agricultural Research and Extension breading apiary which was originally established for the conservation of Apis mellifera syriaca. Goal was to use the genetic information in the breeding for varroa resistant bees and to determine the successfulness of this conservation program. Project funded by USAID-MERC grant number: TA-MOU-09-M29-075.
Project description:Apis laboriosa, the Himalayan giant honey bee, is a species of honey bees (genus Apis), which is highly adapted to highland habitats and mainly occurs in mountainous regions, particularly the Himalayas. Up to data, the genetic basis of its high-elevation adaptation remains a mystery. In the present study, we generated transcriptomes for A. laboriosa and its closely related species A. dorsata, we then characterized the transcriptomes and did comparative and evolutionary analysis between them to understand the genetic basis of high-altitude adaptation in A. laboriosa. We identified 1,605 genes that are absent in A. dorsata but present in A. laboriosa. Those A. laboriosa-specific genes were involved in DNA damage repair, low temperature tolerance and oxidative stress response. In addition, for genes shared by the two species, genes related to anoxia tolerance, freeze tolerance and UV irradiation were positively selected in A. laboriosa. Taken together, our results suggest that both the increased copy number and the accelerated protein sequence evolution of genes related to high-elevation adaptation made a difference between A. laboriosa and A. dorsata, which should contribute to the adaptation of A. laboriosa to challenging environments in Himalayas.
Project description:We aim to evaluate the effects of four Nosema spores’ isolates, (i) and (ii) N. ceranae isolated from A. mellifera hosts from two different geographical origins, (iii) N. ceranae from A. cerana host and (iv) N. apis from A. mellifera, on the A. mellifera on gut proteomics at the early stage of infection. To dissect the molecular mechanism responsible of the susceptibility of A. mellifera to Nosema, we investigated by high-resolution proteomics (LC-ESI-MS/MS) and differential label-free quantification of proteins (LFQ) the molecular cross-talk existing between different species and isolates of N. apis and N. ceranae, and the targetted gut tissue of A. mellifera. To reach the objectives of this study, we performed a bottom-up proteomic analysis on the different anatomical sections of the gut tissue (esophagus, crop, midgut, ileum and rectum) at an early stage of the exposition to Nosema spores (4 days). Then, we focused on the midgut, the region targeted by Nosema sposres for germination and, as we found out, the second region with the highest load of Nosema proteins, after the rectum, to perform differential quantitative proteomic analyses and acquire series of up- and down-regulated proteins. We discussed the different pathways observed to be impacted by different Nosema species and isolates with a main focus on the deregulated metabolic and response to stimuli processes.
Project description:We studied the molecular mechanisms underlying the impact of pollen nutrients on honey bee (Apis mellifera) health and how those nutrients improve resistance to parasites. Using digital gene expression, we determined the changes in gene expression induced by pollen intake in worker bees parasitized or not by the mites Varroa destructor, known for suppressing immunity and decreasing lifespan of bees.
Project description:To explore brain neuropeptidic functions in behavioral regulation, a label-free quantitative strategy was employed to compare neuropeptidomic variations between behavioral phenotypes (nurse bees, nectar foragers, and pollen foragers) and the two honeybee species (Apis mellifera ligustica and Apis cerana cerana).
Project description:Apis mellifera intermissa (Buttel-Reepen, 1906) is the native honeybee subspecies of Algeria. A.m.intermissa occurs in Tunisia, Algeria and Morocco, between the Atlas and the Mediterranean and Atlantic coasts (Ruttner, 1988), in an area of more than 2500 km long. Intermissa indicates the position through this bee races between tropical Africa and European breeds (Peyvel, 1994). The settlement area of the Tellian extends from Tunisia to Morocco. Ruttner et al (1978) describes the pure Tellian. It is a black hair of his coat poverty brings out the black color. It is a small size, there are some times light illumination on the tergites. This bee is very aggressive, nervous, sick to take part, as swarms huge fall and even produced many brood and can build up to one hundred queen cells (Le Conte, 2002). A.m.intermissa is prone to swarming, shows an aggressive behaviour and an abundant use of propolis (Ruttner 1988). This study is part of the project funded by the USAID Grant No. TA-MOU-08-M29-075.
Project description:New insights into the transcriptional regulation of behavioral plasticity in honey bees gained by analyzing brain genes expression with the CAGEscan technique that involves identification of specific transcription factors, cis regulatory motifs and alternate transcriptional start sites Examination of 2 different types of Honey Bee Apis Mellifera samples (Nurse and Foragers)
Project description:Complex organisms are composed of organs and tissues which evolved to their present state as they function together to improve an organism's overall reproductive fitness. Studies of individual organs help us understand their basic functions but this reductionist approach misses the larger context of the whole organism. This problem can be circumvented if all the organs in an organism were comprehensively studied by the same methodology and analyzed together. Using honey bees (Apis mellifera L.) as a model system,we report here the first whole proteome of a complex organism,measuring 29 different tissue types among the three honey bee castes: queen,drone,and worker. The data reveal that,e.g.,workers have a heightened capacity to deal with environmental toxins and queens have a far more robust immune system than their nestmates. Most intriguingly,our analysis reveals the path by which organs of complex organisms probably evolved.Raw data were processed by MaxQuant (v1.2.0.13) using default parameters, plus lysine and N-terminal dimethylation for three isotopologues for relative quantitation. Data were searched against the Apis Official Gene Set version 2 with common contaminants, containing a total of 22037 sequences. Normalized intensity ratios were used for relative quantitation.