Protein content and pattern during mucus gland maturation and its ecdysteroid control in honey bee drones

Author(s)

Colonello‚ N.A. ; Hartfelder‚ K.

• Document type: Journal article
• Source: Apidologie; v. 34, n. 3, p. 257-268, 2003.

Abstract

We analyzed mucus gland protein content and pattern for drones of Africanized honey bees. The effect of exogenous ecdysteroids on mucus gland maturation was judged against the endogenous ecdysteroid titer. During the first 5 days of adult life, the mucus protein content increases steeply, whereas the protein pattern becomes reduced in complexity. Subsequently, the protein content decreases, reaching a plateau level at day 8. The protein pattern of mature glands is characterized by three dominant polypeptides. Injection of 20-hydroxyecdysone into newly emerged drones abolished the normal increase in protein content and prolonged the persistence of the protein pattern typical for immature glands. Ecdysteroids thus appear to act as negative regulators in the maturation process of drone mucus glands. This hypothesis received support from analyses of the hemolymph ecdysteroid titer, which was found to rapidly decline soon after emergence. (AU)

• FAPESP's process: 99/00719-6 - Africanized honeybees: an integrated analysis of the africanization process of Apis mellifera, focusing on determinants in fertility of drones, queens and workers
• Grantee: Zilá Luz Paulino Simões
• Support Opportunities: Research Projects - Thematic Grants