Reproductive parasitism by worker honey bees suppressed by queens through regulation of worker mandibular secretions

dc.contributor.authorMumoki, F.N. (Fiona)
dc.contributor.authorPirk, Christian Walter Werner
dc.contributor.authorYusuf, Abdullahi Ahmed
dc.contributor.authorCrewe, Robin M.
dc.contributor.emailfiona.mumoki@zoology.up.ac.zaen_ZA
dc.date.accessioned2018-05-25T11:43:53Z
dc.date.available2018-05-25T11:43:53Z
dc.date.issued2018-05
dc.description.abstractSocial cohesion in social insect colonies can be achieved through the use of chemical signals whose production is caste-specific and regulated by social contexts. In honey bees, queen mandibular gland pheromones (QMP) maintain reproductive dominance by inhibiting ovary activation and production of queen-like mandibular gland signals in workers. We investigated whether honey bee queens can control reproductively active workers of the intraspecific social parasite Apis mellifera capensis, parasitising A. m. scutellata host colonies. Our results show that the queen’s QMP suppresses ovarian activation and inhibits the production of QMP pheromone signals by the parasitic workers, achieved through differential expression of enzymes involved in the biosynthesis of these pheromones at two points in the biosynthetic pathway. This is the first report showing that honey bee queens can regulate reproduction in intraspecific social parasites and deepens our understanding of the molecular mechanisms involved in the regulation of worker reproduction in social insects.en_ZA
dc.description.departmentZoology and Entomologyen_ZA
dc.description.librarianhj2018en_ZA
dc.description.sponsorshipThe South African National Research Foundation (NRF) Thuthuka Grant No. TTK150703123061 to AAY, NRF Incentive funding and Competitive Research grant for rated scientists (CPR) to CWWP and RMC and an OWSD postgraduate bursary awarded to FNM.en_ZA
dc.description.urihttp://www.nature.com/srepen_ZA
dc.identifier.citationMumoki, F.N., Pirk, C.W.W., Yusuf, A.A. & Crewe, R.M. 2018, 'Reproductive parasitism by worker honey bees suppressed by queens through regulation of worker mandibular secretions', Scientific Reports, bol. 8, art. no. 7701, pp. 1-11.en_ZA
dc.identifier.issn2045-2322 (online)
dc.identifier.other10.1038/s41598-018-26060-w
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/2263/65023
dc.language.isoenen_ZA
dc.publisherNature Publishing Groupen_ZA
dc.rights© The Author(s) 2018. Open Access. This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.en_ZA
dc.subjectHoneybee (Apis mellifera)en_ZA
dc.subjectQueen mandibular gland pheromones (QMP)en_ZA
dc.subjectReproductionen_ZA
dc.subjectHoney bee queensen_ZA
dc.subjectIntraspecific social parasitesen_ZA
dc.subjectWorker reproductionen_ZA
dc.subjectSocial insectsen_ZA
dc.titleReproductive parasitism by worker honey bees suppressed by queens through regulation of worker mandibular secretionsen_ZA
dc.typeArticleen_ZA

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