Change in the expression of hypopharyngeal-gland proteins of the worker honeybees (Apis mellifera L.) with age and/or role.
The roles of adult worker honeybees change with age; young workers nurse brood by secreting bee milk (royal jelly), and older workers forage for nectar and pollen and process nectar into honey. The electrophoretic profile of worker hypopharyngeal-gland proteins changes with age and/or role. Immunoblotting analysis using affinity-purified antibodies against three major proteins (50, 56, and 64 kDa) of the nurse-bee gland showed that they are synthesized selectively and secreted as bee-milk proteins. Immunofluorescence study showed that the proteins condense in the duct after secretion from acini. However, a major 70-kDa protein synthesized specifically in the forager-bee hypopharyngeal gland was identified as an alpha-glucosidase. Therefore, the hypopharyngeal gland seems to have two distinct states differentiated by synthesizing of different major proteins depending on the age-dependent role change.
Kubo
T
T
Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Tokyo.
Sasaki
M
M
Nakamura
J
J
Sasagawa
H
H
Ohashi
K
K
Takeuchi
H
H
Natori
S
S
D000375:Aging / Q000235:genetics*; D000818:Animals; D001516:Bees; D001522:Behavior, Animal; D004591:Electrophoresis, Polyacrylamide Gel; D015971:Gene Expression Regulation, Enzymologic / Q000502:physiology*; D010614:Pharynx / Q000201:enzymology*; D000520:alpha-Glucosidases / Q000235:genetics* / Q000302:isolation & purification
D000520:alpha-Glucosidases