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Genotype effect on lifespan following vitellogenin knockdown
Kate E Ihle1, M Kim Fondrk2, Robert E Page3
1Arizona State University, School of Life Sciences, Tempe, AZ 85287, USA; Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, Panama City, Panama, Apartado Postal 0843-03092, Panama.
Experimental Gerontology
|December 16, 2014
Summary
Honey bee aging is flexible, influenced by vitellogenin (Vg). Reducing Vg unexpectedly extended lifespan in one bee strain, highlighting Vg's complex role beyond behavior, potentially involving antioxidant pathways.
Area of Science:
- Entomology
- Gerontology
- Molecular Biology
Background:
- Honey bee worker aging exhibits plasticity, linked to behavioral maturation and influenced by vitellogenin (Vg).
- Vg, a yolk precursor, regulates behavioral maturation and possesses antioxidant/immune functions, impacting worker lifespan.
- Experimental Vg reduction in wild-type bees causes precocious foraging, shorter lifespan, and increased oxidative stress.
Purpose of the Study:
- To disentangle the effects of vitellogenin (Vg) on honey bee lifespan: behavioral maturation versus antioxidant/immune functions.
- To investigate strain-specific responses to Vg reduction, utilizing honey bee strains with differing phenotypic sensitivities.
- To analyze the expression of aging-related genes, insulin-like peptides (Ilp1, Ilp2), and manganese superoxide dismutase (mnSOD), in relation to Vg knockdown.
Main Methods:
- Utilized two selected honey bee strains with differential responsiveness to Vg gene knockdown.
- Performed targeted gene expression analyses for honey bee insulin-like peptides (Ilp1, Ilp2) and manganese superoxide dismutase (mnSOD).
- Examined gene expression in fat body tissue to correlate with behavioral changes, genetic background, and Vg treatment effects.
Main Results:
- Lifespans unexpectedly increased in the strain insensitive to Vg reduction, contrary to expectations.
- Found expression differences in Ilp1 and Ilp2 related to behavior and genetic background, but no strain-by-treatment interaction.
- Observed effects of behavior and genetic background on mnSOD expression, with a differential response to Vg knockdown suggesting a role for antioxidant pathways.
Conclusions:
- Vitellogenin's influence on honey bee lifespan is complex, with antioxidant pathways potentially mediating strain-specific responses to Vg knockdown.
- The study reveals that Vg's impact on lifespan is not solely mediated by behavioral maturation.
- Genetic background and antioxidant capacity significantly modulate the relationship between Vg and honey bee aging.
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