Proteins of the honeybee ( Apis mellifera L.) body surface and exocrine gland secretions

Abstract

In this paper, soluble proteins are demonstrated on the surface of the honeybee cuticle. Polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis revealed an 80 kDa doublet on workers, queens, and drones showed a single band at a slightly higher molecular weight. Several additional queen- or drone-specific proteins were observed. The presence of soluble cuticular surface proteins may be a general phenomenon because they were also present on insects of two other orders, Orthoptera and Hemiptera. Exocrine gland secretions from the Nasanov glands of workers and the tarsal glands of both female castes and drones also contained soluble proteins. Proteins of tarsal gland secretions may contribute to the milieu of surface proteins because the electrophoretic profiles of cuticular proteins and tarsal secretions were similar. In contrast, the electrophoretic profile of proteins from Nasanov gland secretions was distinct from the profile of the tarsal gland secretion. Proteins on the cuticular surface or in exocrine gland secretions could also affect social interactions. Surface cuticular proteins and those associated with exocrine glands may function in pheromone degradation, as slow release substances, or as caste- or sex-specific modulators of pheromone activity.