| Title: | Injection of seminal fluid into the hemocoel of honey bee queens (Apis mellifera) can stimulate post-mating changes |
| Author(s): | Jasper WC; Brutscher LM; Grozinger CM; Nino EL; |
| Address: | "Department of Entomology and Nematology, University of California Davis, One Shields Ave, Davis, CA, 95616, USA. Department of Entomology, Center for Pollinator Research, Huck Institutes of the Life Sciences, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA, 16802, USA. Department of Entomology and Nematology, University of California Davis, One Shields Ave, Davis, CA, 95616, USA. elnino@ucdavis.edu" |
| DOI: | 10.1038/s41598-020-68437-w |
| ISSN/ISBN: | 2045-2322 (Electronic) 2045-2322 (Linking) |
| Abstract: | "Honey bee queens undergo dramatic behavioral (e.g., reduced sexual receptivity), physiological (e.g., ovary activation, ovulation, and modulation of pheromone production) and transcriptional changes after they complete mating. To elucidate how queen post-mating changes are influenced by seminal fluid, the non-spermatozoa-containing component of semen, we injected queens with semen or seminal fluid alone. We assessed queen sexual receptivity (as measured by likelihood to take mating flights), ovary activation, worker retinue response (which is influenced by queen pheromone production), and transcriptional changes in queen abdominal fat body and brain tissues. Injection with either seminal fluid or semen resulted in decreased sexual receptivity, increased attractiveness of queens to workers, and altered expression of several genes that are also regulated by natural mating in queens. The post-mating and transcriptional changes of queens receiving seminal fluid were not significantly different from queens injected with semen, suggesting that components in seminal fluid, such as seminal fluid proteins, are largely responsible for stimulating post-mating changes in queens" |
| Keywords: | "Animals Bees/genetics/*physiology Brain/metabolism Fat Body/metabolism Female Flight, Animal/physiology Gene Expression Profiling Gene Expression Regulation Gene Ontology Male Ovary/physiology Semen/*physiology Sexual Behavior, Animal/*physiology Transcri;" |
| Notes: | "MedlineJasper, W Cameron Brutscher, Laura M Grozinger, Christina M Nino, Elina L eng Research Support, U.S. Gov't, Non-P.H.S. England 2020/07/21 Sci Rep. 2020 Jul 20; 10(1):11990. doi: 10.1038/s41598-020-68437-w" |
