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Updated: Aug 5, 2026
Methods for Comparing Nutrients in Beebread Made by Africanized and European Honey Bees and the Effects on Hemolymph Protein Titers
Published on: March 17, 2015
Comprehensive proteomic analysis of honeybee (Apis mellifera L.) intestine reveals nutrient-dependent molecular
Valentina Ciaravolo1, Ludovica Cimmino1, Roberta Santopietro2
1Proteomics, Metabolomics and Mass Spectrometry Laboratory, Institute for the Animal Production System in the Mediterranean Environment, National Research Council, 80055 Portici, Italy.
Abstract:
Western honeybees (Apis mellifera, L.) play a crucial role in the pollination of numerous plants, including many economically important crops, and are essential for food production. In this study, we first developed and optimized a protocol for the extraction and characterization of proteins from the intestinal tissue of worker honeybees, which allowed the identification of 1787 distinct components. By feeding honeybees with distinct diets in a caged bee assay and using a Tandem Mass Tag (TMT)-based proteomic approach, we also investigated how the proteome of A. mellifera intestine varies its composition depending on different nutritional inputs. Quantitative proteomics revealed a strong diet-dependent modulation primarily affecting proteins involved in carbohydrate metabolism, protein synthesis and turnover, proteostasis, and cytoskeletal remodeling, reflecting adaptive intestinal responses to different nutritional regimes. On this basis, this study allowed to elucidate the molecular mechanisms underlying intestine adaptation in honeybees, highlighting the dynamic nature of gut physiology in response to nutritional variations.
