title: Melipona quadrifasciata (Hymenoptera: Apidae) fat body persists through metamorphosis with a few apoptotic cells and an increased autophagy.
abstract: Fat body, typically comprising trophocytes, provides energy during metamorphosis. The fat body can be renewed once the larval phase is complete or recycled and relocated to form the fat body of the adult insect. This study aims to identify the class of programmed cell death that occurs within the fat body cells during the metamorphosis of the stingless bee Melipona quadrifasciata. Using immunodetection techniques, the fat body of the post-defecating larvae and the white-, pink-, brown-, and black-eyed pupae were tested for cleaved caspase-3 and DNA integrity, followed by ultrastructural analysis and identification of autophagy using RT-PCR for the Atg1 gene. The fat body of M. quadrifasciata showed some apoptotic cells positive for cleaved caspase-3, although without DNA fragmentation. During development, the fat body cells revealed an increased number of mitochondria and free ribosomes, in addition to higher amounts of autophagy Atg1 mRNA, than that of the pupae. The fat body of M. quadrifasciata showed few cells which underwent apoptosis, but there was evidence of increased autophagy at the completion of the larval stage. All together, these data show that some fat body cells persist during metamorphosis in the stingless bee M. quadrifasciata.
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Biologia Geral, Universidade Federal de Viçosa, Viçosa, MG, 36570-000, Brazil.
authors.forename: Douglas Elias
authors.initials: DE
authors.lastname: Santos
authors.forename: Dihego Oliveira
authors.initials: DO
authors.lastname: Azevedo
authors.forename: Lúcio Antônio Oliveira
authors.initials: LA
authors.lastname: Campos
authors.forename: José Cola
authors.initials: JC
authors.lastname: Zanuncio
authors.forename: José Eduardo
authors.initials: JE
authors.lastname: Serrão
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D017209:Apoptosis; D001343:Autophagy; D001483:Base Sequence; D001516:Bees / Q000166:cytology* / Q000254:growth & development; D005216:Fat Body / Q000166:cytology / Q000502:physiology*; D019476:Insect Proteins / Q000235:genetics; D007814:Larva / Q000166:cytology / Q000254:growth & development; D008675:Metamorphosis, Biological; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D017346:Protein Serine-Threonine Kinases / Q000235:genetics
chemical_list: D019476:Insect Proteins; D017346:Protein Serine-Threonine Kinases