Immune-Related Gene Expression of Apis mellifera Larvae In Response to Cold Stress and Abscisic Acid (ABA) Dietary Supplementation

NEGRI, PEDRO; RAMÍREZ, LEONOR; QUINTANA, SILVINA; SZAWARSKI, NICOLÁS; MAGGI, MATÍAS; EGUARAS, MARTÍN; LAMATTINA, LORENZO

JOURNAL OF APICULTURAL RESEARCH

INT BEE RESEARCH ASSOC

Año: 2019

0021-8839

The actual consensus agrees in that the effects of parasites, pathogens andagrochemical exposure combined with the cold temperatures of winter in temperateclimateregions contribute to the immunosuppression of honey bees. Recently we havedemonstrated that abscisic acid (ABA) dietary supplementation increased the toleranceof Apis mellifera brood to low temperatures. Here we study the relationship betweencold exposure, dietary ABA supplementation and the expression of genes involved inthe immune response of in-vitro-reared bee larvae. We found that cold exposureinduced the expression of several immune-associated genes in honey bee larvae,supporting that the immune system is active during cold stress response in A. mellifera.At the same time the ingestion of ABA alone increased the expression levels of the Tollpathway receptor Toll18W and nitric oxide synthase (NOS) genes which were inducedalso by low temperatures, supporting more evidences that reinforce the connectionbetween honey bees? response to cold stress and ABA.