Novel structure in the nuclei of honey bee brain neurons revealed by immunostaining

Paul J Hurd,Wolfgang Rössler,Ryszard Maleszka,Marek Wojciechowski,Kornelia Grübel

doi:10.1038/s41598-021-86078-5

Paul J Hurd, Wolfgang Rössler + Show 3 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-021-86078-5

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Abstract

In the course of a screen designed to produce antibodies (ABs) with affinity to proteins in the honey bee brain we found an interesting AB that detects a highly specific epitope predominantly in the nuclei of Kenyon cells (KCs). The observed staining pattern is unique, and its unfamiliarity indicates a novel previously unseen nuclear structure that does not colocalize with the cytoskeletal protein f-actin. A single rod-like assembly, 3.7–4.1 µm long, is present in each nucleus of KCs in adult brains of worker bees and drones with the strongest immuno-labelling found in foraging bees. In brains of young queens, the labelling is more sporadic, and the rod-like structure appears to be shorter (~ 2.1 µm). No immunostaining is detectable in worker larvae. In pupal stage 5 during a peak of brain development only some occasional staining was identified. Although the cellular function of this unexpected structure has not been determined, the unusual distinctiveness of the revealed pattern suggests an unknown and potentially important protein assembly. One possibility is that this nuclear assembly is part of the KCs plasticity underlying the brain maturation in adult honey bees. Because no labelling with this AB is detectable in brains of the fly Drosophila melanogaster and the ant Camponotus floridanus, we tentatively named this antibody AmBNSab (Apis mellifera Brain Neurons Specific antibody). Here we report our results to make them accessible to a broader community and invite further research to unravel the biological role of this curious nuclear structure in the honey bee central brain.

Highlights

Comparative analyses using datasets of model species
We report a characterisation of a newly produced antibody AmBNSab that detects an unusual nuclear structure predominantly in the intrinsic neurons (Kenyon cells) of the honey bee mushroom bodies (MBs), a prominent bilateral neuropil found in the brains of most arthropods[23]
Our initial aim was to generate an antibody against the single honey bee relative of mammalian ten-eleven translocation methylcytosine dioxygenases (TETs)[24], a family of proteins implicated in numerous cellular activities including DNA demethylation and cooperative regulation of gene networks[25]

Summary

Introduction

Many important differences between various lineages suggest that functional transferability based exclusively on sequence comparisons is not sufficient to imply species-specific roles[10,20,21]. It is clear that data transfer between the genome/epigenome, transcriptome and phenome needs to include the co- and post-translational levels and antibody-based molecular a natomy[22]. We report a characterisation of a newly produced antibody AmBNSab that detects an unusual nuclear structure predominantly in the intrinsic neurons (Kenyon cells) of the honey bee mushroom bodies (MBs), a prominent bilateral neuropil found in the brains of most arthropods[23]. Some features of the observed immunostaining pattern suggest that this nuclear structure is novel but might be specific to the honey bee

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