Abstract
The honeybee (Apis mellifera L.) uses various chemical signals produced by the worker exocrine glands to maintain the functioning of its colony. The roles of worker postcerebral glands (PcGs), thoracic glands (TGs), and mandibular glands (MGs) and the functional changes they undergo according to the division of labor from nursing to foraging are not as well studied. To comprehensively characterize the molecular roles of these glands in workers and their changes according to the division of labor of workers, we analyzed the proteomes of PcGs, TGs, and MGs from nurse bees and foragers using shotgun proteomics technology. We identified approximately 2000 proteins from each of the nurse bee or forager glands and highlighted the features of these glands at the molecular level by semiquantitative enrichment analyses of frequently detected, gland-selective, and labor-selective proteins. First, we found the high potential to produce lipids in PcGs and MGs, suggesting their relation to pheromone production. Second, we also found the proton pumps abundant in TGs and propose some transporters possibly related to the saliva production. Finally, our data unveiled candidate enzymes involved in labor-dependent acid production in MGs.
Highlights
Animals live in a world of environmental stimuli that affect their life histories; i.e., their developmental trajectories, as well as their physiologic and/or behavioral states
We previously demonstrated that the hypopharyngeal glands (HpGs), and the salivary glands, comprising the head postcerebral glands (PcGs) and thoracic glands (TGs), which connect to a common duct and open in the mouthpart [9, 10], contribute to produce royal jelly (RJ) proteinous components [11, 12]
Among these worker exocrine glands, HpGs have been extensively studied, because they are expected to synthesize the factor(s) responsible for queen determination and their roles change according to the division of labor of the workers: while nurse bee HpGs predominantly synthesize major royal jelly proteins (MRJPs), forager HpGs synthesize and secrete carbohydrate-metabolizing enzymes that process nectar into honey [13,14,15,16,17,18,19,20]
Summary
Animals live in a world of environmental stimuli that affect their life histories; i.e., their developmental trajectories, as well as their physiologic and/or behavioral states. We previously demonstrated that the HpGs, and the salivary glands, comprising the head postcerebral glands (PcGs) and thoracic glands (TGs), which connect to a common duct and open in the mouthpart [9, 10], contribute to produce RJ proteinous components [11, 12] Among these worker exocrine glands, HpGs have been extensively studied, because they are expected to synthesize the factor(s) responsible for queen determination and their roles change according to the division of labor of the workers: while nurse bee HpGs predominantly synthesize MRJPs, forager HpGs synthesize and secrete carbohydrate-metabolizing enzymes that process nectar into honey [13,14,15,16,17,18,19,20]. To expand our understanding of the labor-dependent functional specifications of these exocrine glands, we performed large-scale shotgun proteomic measurements and detailed pathway analyses of PcGs, TGs, and MGs dissected from nurse bees and foragers
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