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Ocellar projections within the central nervous system of the worker honey bee, Apis mellifera.

The projections of ocellar fibres within the brain and thorax of the honey bee, Apis mellifera, were established using a modified cobalt sulphide technique, supplemented by serial sectioning of the brain for the light microscope. The results are: 5 large fibres in each lateral nerve and 12 in the median nerve have wide-field terminal arborisations in ocellar association areas on either side of the posterior slope area. 9 medium-sized fibres in each lateral nerve and 12 in the median nerve form a second ocellar association area on each side of the perioesophageal foramen. A group of fine fibres , stained via the ocellar nerves, arborise just below and anterior to the protocerebral bridge. 10 medium-sized fibres run from the level of the ocellar nerve tracts to the first and second thoracic ganglia, branching in a number of discrete areas within each ganglion. These fibres also form a restricted ocellar association area within the suboesophageal ganglion. A few fibres run between the higher-order optic centres and the ocellar tract. The large- and medium-sized fibres give off short, stout spines from their axons within the ocellar tracts.

Animals

Contrasting patterns of DNA sequence arrangement in Apis mellifera (honeybee) and Musca domestica (housefly).

We have examined the organization of the repeated and single copy DNA sequences in the genomes of two insects, the honeybee (Apis mellifera) and the housefly (Musca domestica). Analysis of the reassociation kinetics of honeybee DNA fragments 330 and 2,200 nucleotides long shows that approximately 90% of both size fragments is composed entirely of non-repeated sequences. Thus honeybee DNA contains few or no repeated sequences interspersed with nonrepeated sequences at a distance of less than a few thousand nucleotides. On the other hand, the reassociation kinetics of housefly DNA fragments 250 and 2,000 nucleotides long indicates that less than 15% of the longer fragments are composed entirely of single copy sequences. A large fraction of the housefly DNA therefore contains repeated sequences spaced less than a few thousand nucleotides apart. Reassociated repetitive DNA from the housefly was treated with S1 nuclease and sized on agarose A-50. The S1 resistant sequences have a bimodal distribution of lengths. Thirty-three percent is greater than 1,500 nucleotide pairs, and 67% has an average size about 300 nucleotide pairs. The genome of the housefly appears to have at least 70% of its DNA arranged as short repeats interspersed with single copy sequences in a pattern qualitatively similar to that of most eukaryotic genomes.

Animals

Genetic control and development expression of malate dehydrogenase in Apis mellifera.

Starch gel electrophoresis of extracts of Apis mellifera indicates that genetic variability exists for the enzyme cytoplasmic malate dehydrogenase (E.C. 1.1.1.37). Analysis of individuals throughout development indicates that the isozyme patterns are identical for larvae and adults and suggests a dimeric structure for the molecule. The isozyme pattern observed in pupae is more complex than that of larvae and adults may be due to an additional pupal-specific MDH gene being expressed or to an epigenetic modification of the isozymes. Forty-three colonies with artificially inseminated queens were used to study the Mendelian pattern of inheritance. The data revealed that the MDH isozymes are encoded by three alleles, Mdh-1A, Mdh-1B, and Mdh-1C. The frequency of the Mdh-1 alleles is different in two analyzed subspecies, A. m. adansonii (African bees) and A. m. ligustica (Italian bees), with Mdh-1A and Mdh-1B in the African bees being 0-768 and 0.202, respectively. For the Italian bees, these frequencies are 0.136 and 0:154, respectively.

Alleles

Immunocytochemical localization of prolactin-like antigenic determinants in the neuroendocrine system of the honeybee (Apis mellifica).

In the brain of the adult worker bee (Apis mellifica) prolactin-like (PRL) immunoreactive cells were localized in the lateral neurosecretory cell region and the subesophageal ganglion by means of the PAP procedure. These cells emit nerve fibers which pass through the neuropile of the brain to the corpora cardiaca where a great number of immunoreactive axon terminals is present. Test with antisera against rat pituitary prolactin and human luteinizing hormone were negative. These results indicate that hPRL material is produced in neurosecretory cells of the bee brain and transferred via axons to the corpora cardiaca for storage and subsequent release into haemolymph.

Animals

Identification of Corynebacterium jeikeium and Corynebacterium CDC group D2 with the API 20 Strep system.

A total of 170 strains of Corynebacterium jeikeium and 23 strains of Corynebacterium group D2 were examined in three British laboratories using the API 20 Strep identification system and three supplementary tests (catalase production, urease production and nitrate reduction). The isolates were collected from clinical specimens in various laboratories over a three-year period. The two species produced consistent reactions in these tests after 24 h. Two tests were highly discriminatory, with positive reactions for ribose fermentation seen for Corynebacterium jeikeium while urease production was observed with Corynebacterium group D2. This method allows routine clinical laboratories to rapidly identify these emerging pathogens.

Corynebacterium

Evaluation of two test-kits--API and Oxi Ferm tube--for identification of oxidative-fermentative Gram-negative rods.

Two test-kits--API and Oxi Ferm tube--have been compared for accuracy in individual tests and for identification on the genus or species level with conventional biochemical tests on 154 oxidative-fermentative gram-negative rods. The two test systems were found to be reliable and permit identification of the clinically most significant oxidative-fermentative strains.

Bacteriological Techniques

Fertile diploid drones in africanized honeybees, Apis mellifera adansonii.

59 diploid drones of Apis mellifera adansonii, 12-37 days old, were tested for the presence of semen after provoked ejaculation; 13 drones ejaculated semen enough to be used in an instrumental insemination, but only three on them (5%) furnished 1 mm3 of semen. The problems referring to the attainment of descendants from the 2n drones are briefly discussed.

Animals

Ultrastructural analysis of the freeze-etched spore envelope of the microsporidian, Nosema apis Zander.

The outer limiting layer of the spore coat of Nosema apis is relatively smooth. The inner limiting layer shows two fractured faces, the concave face carrying many stud-like projections, 120 nm long and 50 nm high, while the convex face carries numerous depressions which are complementary to the projections. In addition, the convex face bears 7 nm particles. In between the outer and inner limiting layers lies the thick homogeneous portion of spore coat which is comprised of numerous microfibres, each 9 nm in diameter. These microfibres resemble those in the freeze-etched host endocuticle. Next to the inner limiting layer of the spore coat are double spore membranes. The convex faces of these spore membranes have a dense population of particles, each 7 nm in diameter.

Animals

5-Hydroxytryptamine in the venom of the honey bee (Apis mellifera L.): variation with season and with insect age.

We used liquid chromatography with electrochemical detection to show that 5-HT is present in the venom of worker honey bees (Apis mellifera L.). Immunohistochemical demonstration of 5-HT-like immunoreactivity within the venom reservoir supports this finding. Measurements were made on bees of known age at various times during the summer season. The amount of 5-HT in the venom system varies with the age of the bee and with the time of year at which the bees reached a specific age. 5-HT is shown to be a component of pure venom, rather than simply present in venom gland and reservoir tissues, by its presence in venom collected by electrical 'milking' of worker bees.

Age Factors

FMRFamide-like immunoreactivity in the brain of the honeybee (Apis mellifera). A light-and electron microscopical study.

Peptide-FMRFamide-like immunoreactivity in the brain and suboesophageal ganglion of the honeybee Apis mellifera L. is demonstrated with the peroxidase-antiperoxidase technique. Immunoreactivity is found in about 120 perikarya of the brain and in about 30 of the suboesophageal ganglion. These cells are distributed in 13 paired clusters representing neurons of different types including neurosecretory neurons projecting to neurohemal organs. Immunoreactivity of different intensity is found in the non-glomerular neuropil around the mushroom bodies, in the lateral protocerebrum, the central body, the optic tubercles, the lobula and medulla of optic lobe, the ocellar neuropil, in multiglomerular elements of the antennal lobes and in the dorsal deuterocerebrum. In the mushroom bodies, immunoreactivity is located in layers of the lobes and stalks, corresponding to intrinsic fibre bundles of some Kenyon cell types. The somata of these intrinsic cells did not show FMRFamide-like immunoreactivity. Electron microscopy of immunostained somata and nerve fibres was performed employing a pre-embedding peroxidase-antiperoxidase technique. Fibres of optic lobes and the non-glomerular neuropil contain immunoreactive dense core vesicles (diameter 50-165 nm) accumulated in boutons besides small synaptic vesicles and synaptic membrane specializations. Immunoreactive layers of the mushroom body neuropil were analysed at the ultrastructural level. Axon profiles with dense-core vesicles of a small type (diameter 35-75 nm) show only faint immunoreactive products. Immunoreactivity of intrinsic mushroom body neurons does not appear to be specifically correlated with synaptic organelles. Our results indicate that FMRFamide or related peptides peptides may be neuroactive compounds in different classes of nerve cells in the bee brain.

Animals

Phylogenetic relationships in the honeybee (genus Apis) as determined by the sequence of the cytochrome oxidase II region of mitochondrial DNA.

The complete nucleotide sequence of the mitochondrial cytochrome oxidase II (COII) gene was determined for five species of the honeybee (Genus: Apis): A. andreniformis, A. cerana, A. dorsata, A. florea, and A. koschevnikovi; these were then compared to the known sequence of the A. millifera gene from Crozier et al. (1989, Mol. Biol. Evol., 6: 399-411) and the wasp Excristes roborator (Liu and Beckenbach, 1992, Mol. Phylogenet. Evol., 1:41-52). Phylogenetic relationships were derived using the parasimony methods DNAPARS and PROTPARS of Felsenstein ("PHYLIP Manual Version 3.4, "University Herbarium, Univ. of California, Berkeley). The results suggest that A. dorsata is the most ancestral species, followed by the branching of A. florea/A. andreniformis and A. koschevnikovi, and then A. mellifera and A. cerana. This inference differs from the currently accepted view that considers the A. florea/A. andreniformis line to be the most ancestral.

Amino Acid Sequence

Comparative in silico analysis of Apis mellifera immune responses to Varroa destructor and Tropilaelaps mercedesae: Common and mite-specific molecular signatures.

Parasitic mites Varroa destructor and Tropilaelaps mercedesae represent major threats to global honey bee (Apis mellifera) health and productivity, yet comparative molecular insights into host responses remain limited. To address this, we systematically compiled published studies (2015-2025) reporting genes associated with honey bee interactions with V. destructor (11 studies, 87 genes), T. mercedesae (4 studies, 35 genes), and hygienic behavior (6 studies, 44 genes). Gene identifiers were harmonized to the Amel_HAv3.1 genome assembly, yielding three non-redundant sets: 64 Varroa-associated, 34 Tropilaelaps-associated, and 44 hygienic behavior-associated genes. Venn analysis identified 10 overlapping genes (including A0A088A8D5, A0A088ADL8, ABAE_APIME, Def1, Def2, Gapdh, HYTA_APIME, Imd, LOC726783, and Vg), suggesting conserved defense mechanisms, while 41 and 24 genes were uniquely associated with Varroa and Tropilaelaps, respectively. Enrichment analyses revealed Varroa-responsive genes were enriched in immune processes, chitin catabolism, and signaling pathways (Toll/Imd, MAPK, Wnt). Tropilaelaps-associated genes were enriched for antibacterial defense and stress response, with Toll/Imd signaling as the sole significantly enriched pathway. Overlapping genes reinforced core innate immunity activation. Protein-protein interaction network centrality analysis identified key hub genes: Def1, HYTA_APIME, ABAE_APIME, PPO, Imd, PGRP-LC, Vg for Varroa; and ACPH1_APIME, MRJP1, Vg, LOC726783 for Tropilaelaps. Results demonstrate that, despite differences in mite biology, honey bees show a conserved immune response against both parasites, centered on antibacterial defense, humoral immunity, and activation of the Toll/Imd pathway. Although limited by the in-silico nature and research asymmetries reflecting Tropilaelaps' emergence, this curated resource establishes a comprehensive framework for elucidating shared and distinct molecular defense mechanisms. Ultimately, this approach prioritizes diagnostic markers and candidate genes for functional validation and breeding strategies to enhance colony resilience against mite‑driven disease globally.

Animals

Phospholipase A2 in venom extracts from honey bees (Apis mellifera L.) of different ages.

We measured phospholipase A2 activity in the venom of worker honey bees (Apis mellifera L.) of known ages using chemical (titrimetric) and radioallergosorbent methods. The two techniques give similar results. Low levels of phospholipase A2 are present in the venom system at the time of eclosion. Phospholipase A2 activity in the venom increases steadily through the 10 days after eclosion. Maximal phospholipase A2 levels (about 40 micrograms phospholipase A2/venom sac) are maintained through the rest of the life of a worker bee in summer.

Aging

Enzyme activities of the strains belonging to family Leptospiraceae detected by the API ZYM system.

A total of 32 strains of the family Leptospiraceae (23 strains of Leptospira interrogans, 6 strains of Leptospira biflexa, 2 strains of Leptonema and 1 strain of Leptospira parva) were examined for enzyme activities using 89 substrates (API ZYM system). More than 90% of the strains belonging to the family Leptospiraceae possessed strong activities of beta-D-galactosidase, beta-D-glucosidase and 5 esterases (C5, C6, C8, C9 and C10). More than 90% of the strains belonging to the genus Leptospira, except L. parva, had strong activities of L-lysine arylamidase and alpha-L-glutamate arylamidase. L. biflexa strains, except serovar andamana, were different from the other strains examined in that they possessed glycyl-glycine arylamidase, glycyl-phenylalanine arylamidase and L-tryptophan arylamidase. L. biflexa strains, except andamana, L. parva and Leptonema strains possessed strong activities of glycine arylamidase and leucyl-glycine arylamidase. Two strains of the genus Leptonema were different from the strains belonging to the genus Leptospira in that they possessed strong activities of beta-D-lactosidase. L. parva lacked alpha-D-galactosidase which other strains belonging to the family Leptospiraceae possessed. Dendrogram analysis revealed that strains belonging to the family Leptospiraceae were divided into 4 groups. The first group consisted of all strains belonging to L. interrogans and serovar andamana of L. biflexa; the second group consisted of the remaining 5 serovars of L. biflexa; the third group consisted of the genus Leptonema; and the fourth group consisted of only L. parva.

Aminopeptidases

Transfer of the methyl group of methionine to choline and to tRNA in the honeybee Apis mellifica L.

Contrary to some previous reports on the absence of biological transmethylation reactions in some insect species, the transfer of the methyl group of methionine-methyl 14C leading to choline and to methylated bases in tRNA was shown in the honeybee Apis mellifica. The addition of antibiotics to the food of the insect does not diminish the incorporation of radioactivity, proving that intestinal bacteria are not responsible for the methylation reactions observed.

Animals

Purification and properties of a very high density lipoprotein from the hemolymph of the honeybee Apis mellifera.

A larval-specific very high density lipoprotein (VHDL) has been isolated from the hemolymph of the honeybee Apis mellifera. VHDL was isolated by a combination of density gradient ultracentrifugation and gel filtration. The purified protein is a dimer of Mr 160,000 apoproteins as shown by chemical cross-linking with dimethyl suberimidate. N-Terminal sequence analysis indicates that the two polypeptide chains are identical. The holoprotein contains 10% lipid by weight and 2.6% covalently bound carbohydrate. A native Mr 330,000 species was obtained by gel permeation chromatography. Antiserum directed against VHDL was used to show that VHDL is distinct from other hemolymph proteins and appears to constitute a novel lipoprotein of unknown function. However, the lipoprotein is present in high amounts in hemolymph only at the end of larval life, suggesting a potential role in lipid transport and/or storage protein metabolism during metamorphosis.

Amino Acid Sequence

Learning by honeybees (Apis mellifera) on arrival at and departure from a feeding place.

The question of when in the course of a visit to a feeding place foraging honeybees (Apis mellifera) learn about its location was studied in Experiment 1 by moving the animals a short distance after they arrived and began to feed. A preference for the arrival place developed, although less rapidly than in control animals for which the arrival and departure places were the same. In Experiments 2-5, a distinctive object was used to define the location of the feeding place. When the object was removed after arrival or introduced only after arrival, the animals learned less about its color and shape than did control animals for which it was present throughout each visit. The results contradict the claim that honeybees learn about certain characteristics of a feeding place only on arrival and about others only on departure.

Animals