Record 5 of 5 in BA on CD January - June 1990

Title

Nature of brood signal activating the protein synthesis of hypopharyngeal gland in honey bees, Apis mellifera (Apidae: Hymenoptera).

Author(s)

HUANG-Z-Y; OTIS-G-W; TEAL-P-E-A

Source Journal

APIDOLOGIE 20(6): 455-464

Publication Year

1989

Language of Article

English

Abstract

Evidence suggests the existence of a signal from honey bee brood which activates the protein synthesis of hypopharyngeal glands of nurse honey bees. An in vitro bioassay, modified from Brouwers (1982), was used to measure protein synthesis in glands from bees reared under different treatments. By using colonies divided into brood-right and broodless portions with single or double screens, it was found that the signal can only be obtained by worker bees if they have direct access to the brood. Alternative hypothesis, such as the signal being a highly volatile chemical, or a stimulus transferable through antennal signaling or through trophallaxis, were ruled out by the experimental design. Regression analysis showed that there was a quadratic relationship between total protein content and synthetic activity of hypopharyngeal glands, which indicated that both undeveloped and hypertrophied glands were less actively synthesizing protein than those glands of intermediate sizes. .