Proteome Analysis of Hemolymph Changes during the
Larval to Pupal Development Stages of Honeybee Workers (<i>Apis
mellifera ligustica</i>)
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Abstract
Hemolymph is vital for the flow and
transportation of nutrients, ions, and hormones in the honey bee and
plays role in innate immune defense. The proteome of the hemolymph
changes over the life of a honey bee, but many of these changes are
not well characterized, including changes during the life cycle transition
from the larval to pupal stages of workers. We used two-dimensional
gel electrophoresis, mass spectrometry, bioinformatics, and Western
blot to analyze the proteome changes of the honeybee hemolymph during
the transition from newly hatched larvae to five-day-old pupae. Of
the 49 nonredundant proteins that changed in abundance (identified
by 80 protein spots), 29 (59.2%) and 20 (40.8%) were strongly expressed
in the larvae and the pupae, respectively. The larval hemolymph had
high expressions of major royal jelly proteins and proteins related
to metabolism of carbohydrates and energy, folding activities, development,
and the cytoskeleton and antioxidant systems. Proteins involved in
food storage and the metabolism of fatty acids and amino acids were
abundantly expressed during the late larval to pupal development stages.
The proteins expressed by the young larvae are used to enhance their
development process and as a temporal innate immune protection mechanism
until they gain immunity with age development. The pupae use more
energy storage related proteins as they prepare for their non-diet-driven
pupation. Our data provide new evidence that changes in the hemolymph
at the proteome level match the processes during life transitions
in the honeybee