Genetic Background And Nutrition Effect On Honeybee Lifespan

With the Honey bee(Apis mellifera) as materials in this study, we analyze the meanlifespan of different subfamily, reveal the genetic background impacks on worker beeslifespan. In addition, we analyze the mean and longest survival time of newly-emergedbees lifespan in different nutrition. At the same time, real-time PCR was used to analyzethe expression differences of six genes（vitellogenin (Vg), superoxide dismutase (Sod),superoxide dismutase2(Sod2), thioredoxin reductase1(Trxr-1), Silent information regulator2(sir2), histone deacetylase1(hdac1) in abdomen among different nutrition group.We collected270emerging workers from a naturally mated queen colony，holdingthem separately in a small box with a comb with sufficient food，and pickedout and counted the naturally dead insects every day. We determined genotypes of markerworkers based on3microsatellite primers and identified the patrilines. Survival curves ofthe different subfamilies were drawn for survival analysis. The results indicate that theexperimental colony was made up of12subfamilies，with two of these having significantsurvival differences from the other subfamilies (P <0.05).Comparing newly emerged bees reared on three nutritional regimes all through theirlives(pollen only (P+RJ-), pollen and royal jelly together (P+RJ+), without pollen or royaljelly (P-RJ-)), we found that bees fed with pollen only (P+RJ-) or with pollen and royaljelly together (P+RJ+) both had longer lifespans than bees fed without pollen or royal jelly(P-RJ-). Further, bees fed with pollen and royal jelly together also had a longer lifespanthan bees fed with pollen alone(P+RJ-).Using real-time PCR, the relative expression levels of six genes were examined inabdomen of different nutrition group. Bees fed with pollen and royal jelly together (P+RJ+)and bees fed with fed with pollen only (P+RJ-) both had a higher expression of Vg thanthose without pollen and RJ (P-RJ-). Bees fed with (P+RJ+) also had a higher expressionlevel of Vg than bees fed with (P+RJ-)(P<0.05). The expression levels of sod1and trxr-1were higher in (P+RJ+) and (P+RJ-) than that fed neither(P-RJ-)(P<0.05), but the formertwo higher groups were not significantly different from each other. The former two groups(P+RJ+) and (P+RJ-) both had lower expression levels than (P-RJ-) in hdac1. Two othergenes (sir2, sod2) were not significantly different among three groups.