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Honey bee (Apis mellifera) intracolonial genetic diversity influences worker nutritional status

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Abstract

Honey bee queens mate with multiple males resulting in high intracolonial genetic diversity among nestmates; a reproductive strategy known as extreme polyandry. Several studies have demonstrated the adaptive significance of extreme polyandry for overall colony performance and colony growth. Colonies that are more genetically diverse collect more pollen than colonies with less diversity. However, the effects of intracolonial genetic diversity on worker nutritional status are unknown. We created colonies headed by queens instrumentally inseminated with sperm from either 1 or 20 drones, then compared protein consumption, digestion, and uptake among nestmates. We found that nurse bees from colonies with multiple-drone-inseminated (MDI) queens consumed more pollen, had lower amounts of midgut tissue protease, and invested more protein into larvae than nurse bees from single-drone-inseminated (SDI) queens. Pollen foragers from MDI colonies had significantly higher hemolymph protein concentration than pollen foragers from SDI colonies. Differences in hemolymph protein concentration between nurses and pollen foragers were significantly smaller among MDI colonies than among SDI colonies. While intracolonial genetic diversity is correlated with increased foraging, our results suggest that this relationship may be driven in part by the elevated resource demands of nurse bees in genetically diverse colonies that consume and distribute more protein in response to the social context within the hive.

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Acknowledgments

We thank Tom Glenn for producing the instrumentally inseminated queens and Dave Mendes for providing colonies. We also thank the USDA-ARS Carl Hayden Bee Research Center technical staff for their help with sample collection and laboratory processing. John Bear, Vanessa Corby-Harris, Linda Eckholm, and three anonymous reviewers provided helpful feedback on the manuscript. This study complied with current guidelines and regulation concerning subject handling. The authors declare that they have no conflicts of interest.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. 1025 Zylstra Road, Coupeville, WA, 98239, USA

    Bruce J. Eckholm

  2. Eurofins Agroscience Services, Inc., 15250 NC Hwy 86 South, Prospect Hill, NC, 27314, USA

    Ming H. Huang

  3. Carl Hayden Bee Research Center, USDA-ARS, 2000 East Allen Road, Tucson, AZ, 85719, USA

    Kirk E. Anderson, Brendon M. Mott & Gloria DeGrandi-Hoffman

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  1. Bruce J. Eckholm
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  2. Ming H. Huang
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  5. Gloria DeGrandi-Hoffman
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Correspondence to Bruce J. Eckholm.

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Handling Editor: David Tarpy

La diversité génétique à l’intérieur d’une colonie d’abeilles (Apis mellifera) influence le statut nutritionnel des ouvrières

Polyandrie extrême / nutrition / abeille / approvisionnement / protéine

Die genetische Diversität innerhalb von Völkern der Honigbiene (Apis mellifera) beeinflusst den Ernährungszustand der Arbeiterinnen

genetische Diversität innerhalb des Volks / extreme Polyandrie / Ernährung der Honigbiene

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Eckholm, B.J., Huang, M.H., Anderson, K.E. et al. Honey bee (Apis mellifera) intracolonial genetic diversity influences worker nutritional status. Apidologie 46, 150–163 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13592-014-0311-4

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