title: Comparing the secretory pathway in honeybee venom and hypopharyngeal glands.
abstract: We provide insights into the secretory pathway of arthropod gland systems by comparing the royal jelly-producing hypopharyngeal glands and the venom-producing glands of the honeybee, Apis mellifera. These glands have different functions and different product release characteristics, but both belong to the class 3 types of insect glands, each being composed of two cells, a secretory cell and a microduct-forming cell. The hypopharyngeal secretory cells possess an extremely elongate tubular invagination that is filled with a cuticular structure, the end-apparatus, anchored against the cell membrane by a conspicuous series of actin rings. In contrast, venom glands have no actin rings, but instead have an actin-rich brush border surrounding the comparatively short and narrow end-apparatus. We relate these cytoskeletal differences to the production system and utilisation of secretions; venom is stored in a reservoir whereas royal jelly and enzymes are produced on demand. Fluorescence-based characterisation of the actin cytoskeleton combined with scanning electron microscopy of the end-apparatus allows for detailed characterisation of the point of secretion release in insect class 3 glands.
authors.affiliation: School of Biological Sciences, The University of Queensland, Mansfield Place, Brisbane, Queensland 4072, Australia.
authors.forename: Homayoun
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Kheyri
authors.forename: Bronwen W
authors.initials: BW
authors.lastname: Cribb
authors.forename: David J
authors.initials: DJ
authors.lastname: Merritt
mesh_terms: D000199:Actins / Q000378:metabolism; D000818:Animals; D001514:Bee Venoms / Q000378:metabolism*; D001516:Bees / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000648:ultrastructure*; D003599:Cytoskeleton / Q000648:ultrastructure; D005227:Fatty Acids / Q000378:metabolism*; D007013:Hypopharynx / Q000648:ultrastructure; D018613:Microscopy, Confocal; D008854:Microscopy, Electron; D008856:Microscopy, Fluorescence; D008871:Microvilli / Q000378:metabolism; D055571:Secretory Pathway; D000099219:Royal Jelly
chemical_list: D000199:Actins; D001514:Bee Venoms; D005227:Fatty Acids; D000099219:Royal Jelly