ABSTRACT: Bumble bees are important pollinators broadly used by farmers in greenhouses and under conditions in which honeybee pollination is limited. As such, bumble bees are increasingly being reared for commercial purposes, which brings into question whether individuals reared under laboratory conditions are fully capable of physiological adaptation to field conditions. To understand the changes in bumble bee organism caused by foraging, we compared the fundamental physiological and immunological parameters of Bombus terrestris workers reared under constant optimal laboratory conditions with workers from sister colonies that were allowed to forage for two weeks in the field. Nutritional status and immune response were further determined in wild foragers of B. terrestris that lived under the constant influence of natural stressors. Both wild and laboratory-reared workers subjected to the field conditions had a lower protein concentration in the hemolymph and increased antimicrobial activity, the detection of which was limited in the non-foragers. However, in most of the tested parameters, specifically the level of carbohydrates, antioxidants, total hemocyte concentration in the hemolymph and melanization response, we did not observe any significant differences between bumble bee workers produced in the laboratory and wild animals, nor between foragers and non-foragers. Our results show that bumble bees reared under laboratory conditions can mount a sufficient immune response to potential pathogens and cope with differential food availability in the field, similarly to the wild bumble bee workers.
Similar Posts
Role of Cell Death in Cellular Processes During Odontogenesis
Abstract: The development of a tooth germ in a precise size, shape, and position in... Read More
Differences in the growth rate and immune strategies of farmed and wild mallard populations
Individuals reared in captivity are exposed to distinct selection pressures and evolutionary processes causing genetic... Read More
Sex differences and risk factors for bleeding in Alagille syndrome
Abstract: Spontaneous bleeds are a leading cause of death in the pediatric JAG1-related liver disease... Read More
The hidden function of egg white antimicrobials: egg weight-dependent effects of avidin on avian embryo survival and hatchling phenotype
By: Eva Krkavcová, Jakub Kreisinger, Ludmila Hyánková, Pavel Hyršl, Veronika Javůrková Published in: Open Biology... Read More
Comparative phosphorylation map of Dishevelled 3 links phospho-signatures to biological outputs.
Hanáková K, Bernatík O, Kravec M, Micka M, Kumar J, Harnoš J, Ovesná P, Paclíková... Read More
Hypoxia/Hif1α Prevents Premature Neuronal Differentiation of Neural Stem Cells Through the Activation of Hes1
Stem Cell Res. 2020 May;45:101770 ABSTRACT: Embryonic neural stem cells (NSCs), comprising neuroepithelial and radial... Read More