Growing too fast leads to premature death in honey bees

Research shows that the transition to flight activity in a naturally occurring living organism can have consequences that affect the rate of aging.

Reactive oxygen species (ROS) appear as a product of aerobic metabolism and impair cell function by damaging proteins, nucleotides and lipids. Organisms possess many antioxidant mechanisms to minimize the effects of ROS, and the model of aging and aging of oxidative response shows that physiological activity weakens with age because of the cumulative accumulation. The damage caused by ROS and the ability to resist oxidation decreases. Therefore, the speed and duration of overexpression may affect the damage caused by ROS, as well as the antioxidant response, physiological ability and life expectancy.

The new study examines how these characteristics in honeybees are influenced by age and activity intensity (these factors are separated by demographic application in bees). This is the first study to use the same method to test the model for oxidizing the aging reaction of free-living organisms.

Communication

Behavior formation in adult honey bees involves transitioning from the life stage to the stage of finding food at about 3 weeks of age. Every day after this transition, a bee feeds (weighs about 80mg, equivalent to a mint candy), will fly an average of 8km (5 miles), about 4 million times the dam, and 60ml of oxygen pure in the chest (body part to fly). Life expectancy and behavioral behavior have a strong influence on cellular oxidative stress and antioxidant mechanisms, especially in muscles for flight.

In this study, researchers used individual bees to control the onset of the feeding process and compared only signs of oxidative damage and antioxidant mechanisms in different tissues (head and chest), compare the lifespan of groups (bees living in nests and bees foraging), and time of day (morning, afternoon), predicting that such markers are often found in intense tissues strong activity during the day.

The study was conducted by Stephen P. Roberts, Michelle M. Elekonich and Jason B. Williams, of the School of Life Sciences, Nevada Las Vegas University. The study was funded by the National Science Foundation (NSF) and the National Institutes of Health (NIH), titled Oxidation Reaction Reaction and Antioxidant Mechanism in Transition to Flight Activities in Lost Bees . Dr. Robert presented the team's findings at the 5th Combined Practical Biology Meeting of the American Physiological Society.

Research summary

Honey bees are often separated into separate flocks to allow sampling and comparison (a) bees of the same age to perform different jobs (b) bees of the same age perform the same work. job. Comparative groups include 8-10 days old (young) bees that feed on, 8-10 days old (usually) bees that work in nests, 30-32 days old (usually) bees foraging and 30-32 days age (too old) bee active in the nest, Hsp70 and catalase antioxidant protein is measured in the head and chest tissue. Total volume of antioxidant in tissue is measured as the ability of homogenate to prevent the oxidation of ABTS® (2,20-azino-di- [3-ethylbenzthiazolinesulphonate]) to ABTS + ® regarding trolox standards. Protein carbonylation, aconitase Vmax inhibition and the formation of H2O2 receptors are indications of oxidative damage.

Initial research results

The team found that: Feeding bees regulate Hsp70, catalaza, and the total amount of antioxidants in the muscle used to fly in a day's journey. However, these changes do not occur in the head tissues of the feeding bees and the muscles used to fly and the head tissues of the bees that operate in the nest.

The day-to-day adjustment of the amount of muscle antioxidant used in flight fades with age, which may explain the impairment of the function of the mitochondrial function for flight (increasing H2O2 formation and reducing aconitase Vmax) and the ability to fly observed in bees foraging.
Conclude

According to Dr. Roberts, author of the study: 'This data shows that the transition to flight activity in a free-living organism in the wild can produce consequences that affect aging and aging. . The results are consistent with the viewpoint of fast life and early death, but there are still many questions about the nature of this aging model naturally, especially for species such as honey bees and the surface of the abundance. their association is similar to ours. '

Honey bees that grow too quickly can die early.(Photo: iStockphoto)