Pollen nutrition on the honey bee (Apis mellifera L.) health

A conduta das mulheres enclausuradas em conventos e recolhimentos era vigiada pelas autoridades masculinas externas com visitas e interrogatórios, num afã de disciplinamento muitas vezes inglório. Também assim se procedia no Recolhimento da Misericórdia do Porto, o Recolhimento de Órfãs de Nossa Senhora da Esperança. Com a exploração sistemática dos registos de tais inspeções, procurar-se-ão aspetos do quotidiano dessas mulheres, comparando-os com os de outras comunidades cujas vivências conhecemos através desse tipo de fontes. Os Capítulos de Visitações do Recolhimento da Misericórdia do Porto (1732-1824) não são ricos em informações, se comparados com outros, e já foram parcialmente usados como fontes. Mesmo assim, é possível ir mais um pouco longe na sua exploração e é isso que se tentará fazer. Palavras‐chave: Mulheres, Clausura, Quotidiano, Disciplinamento, séculos XVIII e XIXThe conduct of enclosed women in convents and gatherings was monitored by external male authorities with visits and interrogations in a constant, but often inglorious, effort to discipline. This also happened at the Recolhimento da Misericórdia do Porto or Recolhimento de Órfãs de Nossa Senhora da Esperança. With a systematic utilization of such inspections records, the everyday aspects of these women will be analyzed by comparing them with those of other communities whose experiences we know through such sources. Visitation Chapters of Recolhimento de Órfãs de Nossa Senhora da Esperança (1732-1824) are not rich in information, compared with others, and have already been partially used as sources. Still, it is possible to go a bit far in its exploitation and that’s what we will try to do. Key Words: Women, Enclosure, Daily life, disciplining, eighteenth and nineteenth centuries

Integrative taxonomy of a new Redudasys species (Gastrotricha: Macrodasyida) sheds light on the invasion of fresh water habitats by macrodasyids

The order Macrodasyida (Gastrotricha) includes over 350 marine species, and only 3 freshwater species (Marinellina flagellata, Redudasys fornerise, R. neotemperatus). Herein we describe a new freshwater species of Macrodasyida, Redudasys brasiliensis sp. nov., from Brazil through an integrative taxonomic approach. The external morphology and internal anatomy were investigated using differential interference contrast microscopy, confocal microscopy, scanning and transmission electron microscopy. The systematization of the new taxon was inferred by nuclear (18S and 28S) and mitochondrial (COI) genes, and its intra-order relationships were assessed using data from most of available macrodasyids. Phylogenetic analyses yielded congruent trees, in which the new taxon is nested within the family Redudasyidae, but it was genetically distinct from the other species of the genus Redudasys. The new species shares the gross morphology and reproductive traits with other Redudasyidae and the presence of only 1 anterior adhesive tube per side with Redudasys neotemperatus, but it has a specific pattern of ventral ciliation and muscle organization. Results support the hypothesis that dispersion into fresh water habitats by Macrodasyida and Chaetonotida taxa occurred independently and that within Macrodasyida a single lineage invaded the freshwater environment only once. Furthermore, the Neotropical region seems to be peculiar for the evolution of the freshwater macrodasyid clade9CONSELHO NACIONAL DE DESENVOLVIMENTO CIENTÍFICO E TECNOLÓGICO - CNPQFUNDAÇÃO DE AMPARO À PESQUISA DO ESTADO DE MINAS GERAIS - FAPEMIGFUNDAÇÃO DE AMPARO À PESQUISA DO ESTADO DE SÃO PAULO - FAPESP478825/2013ETC-00017-132014/23856-

Validation of reference genes for gene expression studies in the honey bee, Apis mellifera, by quantitative real-time RT-PCR

For obtaining accurate and reliable gene expression results it is essential that quantitative real-time RT-PCR (qRT-PCR) data are normalized with appropriate reference genes. The current exponential increase in postgenomic studies on the honey bee, Apis mellifera, makes the standardization of qRT-PCR results an important task for ongoing community efforts. For this aim we selected four candidate reference genes (actin, ribosomal protein 49, elongation factor 1-alpha, tbp-association factor) and used three software-based approaches (geNorm, BestKeeper and NormFinder) to evaluate the suitability of these genes as endogenous controls. Their expression was examined during honey bee development, in different tissues, and after juvenile hormone exposure. Furthermore, the importance of choosing an appropriate reference gene was investigated for two developmentally regulated target genes. The results led us to consider all four candidate genes as suitable genes for normalization in A. mellifera. However, each condition evaluated in this study revealed a specific set of genes as the most appropriated ones

TRADE-OFF BETWEEN IMMUNE STIMULATION AND EXPRESSION OF STORAGE PROTEIN GENES

Proteins stored in insect hemolymph may serve (is a source of amino acids and energy for metabolism, and development. The expression of the main storage proteins was assessed in bacterial-challenged honey bees using real-time (RT)-PCH and Western blot.. After ensuring that. the immune system had, been activated by measuring the ensuing expression (, the innate immune response genes, defensin-1 (def-1) and prophenoloxidase (pro PO), we verified the expression of four genes encoding storage proteins. The levels of vitellogenin (vg) mRNA and of the respective protein. were significantly lowered in bees injected with bacteria or water only (injury). An equivalent response was observed in orally-infected bees. The levels of apolipophorin II/I (apoLP-II/I) and hexamerin (hex 70a) mRNAs did not significantly change, but levels of Hex 70a protein subunit showed a substantial decay after bacterial challenge or injury. Infection also caused a strong reduction in the levels of apoLP-III transcripts. Our findings are consistent with a down-regulation, of the express and accumulation of storage proteins as a consequence of activation of the immune system, suggesting that this phenomenon. represents a strategy to redirect resources to combat injury or infection. (C) 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc

Potential costs of bacterial infection on storage protein gene expression and reproduction in queenless Apis mellifera worker bees on distinct dietary regimes

Insects are able to combat infection by initiating an efficient immune response that involves synthesizing antimicrobial peptides and a range of other defense molecules. These responses may be costly to the organism, resulting in it exploiting endogenous resources to maintain homeostasis or support defense to the detriment of other physiological needs. We used queenless worker bees on distinct dietary regimes that may alter hemolymph protein storage and ovary activation to investigate the physiological costs of infection with Serratia marcescens. The expression of the genes encoding the storage proteins vitellogenin and hexamerin 70a, the vitellogenin receptor, and vasa (which has a putative role in reproduction), was impaired in the infected bees. This impairment was mainly evident in the bees fed beebread, which caused significantly higher expression of these genes than did royal jelly or syrup, and this was confirmed at the vitellogenin and hexamerin 70a protein levels. Beebread was also the only diet that promoted ovary activation in the queenless bees, but this activation was significantly impaired by the infection. The expression of the genes encoding the storage proteins apolipophorins-I and -III and the lipophorin receptor was not altered by infection regardless the diet provided to the bees. Similarly, the storage of apolipophorin-I in the hemolymph was only slightly impaired by the infection, independently of the supplied diet. Taken together these results indicate that, infection demands a physiological cost from the transcription of specific protein storage-related genes and from the reproductive capacity. (C) 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.Fundacao do Amparo Pesquisa do Estado de Sao Paulo (FAPESP) [03/07041-2, 05/03926-5]Fundacao de Amparo Pesquisa do Estado de Sao Paulo (FAPESP