Worker bees (Apis mellifera) deprived of pollen in the first week of adulthood exhibit signs of premature aging. (July 2022)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Martelli, Felipe; Falcon, Tiago; Pinheiro, Daniel G.; Simões, Zilá L.P.; Nunes, Francis M.F.
• Is Part Of: Insect biochemistry and molecular biology. Volume 146(2022)
• Publication Date: 2022-07
• Subjects: Honey bees -- Nutrition -- Pollen -- Oxidative stress -- Cuticular hydrocarbons -- Transcriptome -- Aging; PD Pollen-deprived -- PR Pollen-rich -- CHC Cuticular hydrocarbons -- GO Gene Ontology -- KEGG Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes -- MDA Malondialdehyde -- miR;miRNA microRNA -- FDR False Discovery Rate -- df degrees of freedom; Insect biochemistry -- Periodicals; Insects -- Physiology -- Periodicals; Insects -- Molecular aspects -- Periodicals; Biochemistry -- Periodicals; Insectes -- Biochimie -- Périodiques; Insectes -- Composition -- Périodiques; Insectes -- Physiologie -- Périodiques; Insectes -- Aspect moléculaire -- Périodiques; Biochimie -- Périodiques; Biochemistry; Insect biochemistry; Insects -- Molecular aspects; Insects -- Physiology; Periodicals; 572.8157
• DOI: 10.1016/j.ibmb.2022.103774
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0965-1748

Abstract

Abstract: Pollinator populations, including bees, are in rapid decline in many parts of the world, raising concerns over the future of ecosystems and food production. Among the factors involved in these declines, poor nutrition deserves attention. The diet consumed by adult worker honeybees ( Apis mellifera ) is crucial for their behavioral maturation, i.e., the progressive division of labor they perform, such as nurse bees initially and later in life as foragers. Poor pollen nutrition is known to reduce the workers' lifespan, but the underlying physiological and genetic mechanisms are not fully understood. Here we investigate how the lack of pollen in the diet of workers during their first week of adult life can affect age-related phenotypes. During the first seven days of adult life, newly emerged workers were fed either a pollen-deprived (PD) diet mimicking that of an older bee, or a control pollen-rich (PR) diet, as typically consumed by young bees. The PD-fed bees showed alterations in their fat body transcriptome, such as a switch from a protein-lipid based metabolism to a carbohydrate-based metabolism, and a reduced expression of genes involved with immune response. The absence of pollen in the diet also led to an accumulation of oxidative stress markers in fat body tissue and alterations in the cuticular hydrocarbon profiles, which became similar to those of chronologically older bees. Together, our data indicate that the absence of pollen during first week of adulthood triggers the premature onset of an aging-related worker phenotype. Graphical abstract: Image 1 Highlights: Worker honeybees fed on pollen-deprived diet for the first 7 days of life show signs of premature aging. Pollen-deprived diet impacts expression of genes involved in metabolism, redox and immune response. Pollen-deprived diet renders the integument (CHC profiles) of young bees similar to the one of old bees. Pollen-deprived diet increases the oxidative stress in fat body. Poor pollen diet could render bees more susceptible to infections and pesticides.