Evaluating and Comparing the Natural Cell Structure and Dimensions of Honey Bee Comb Cells of Chinese Bee, Apis cerana cerana (Hymenoptera: Apidae) and Italian Bee, Apis mellifera ligustica (Hymenoptera: Apidae)

Impact of prolonged storage on quality assessment properties and constituents of honey: A systematic review

This systematic review paper aims to discuss the trend in quality assessment properties and constituents of honey at different storage conditions and confer the possible whys and wherefores associated with the significant changes. Initially, a literature search was conducted through Google Scholar, ScienceDirect, PubMed, and Scopus databases. In total, 43 manuscripts published between 2001 and 2023 that met the inclusion and exclusion criteria were chosen for the review. As an outcome of this review, prolonged honey storage could deteriorate sensory, nutritional, and antioxidant properties and promote fermentation, granulation, microbial growth, carcinogenicity, organotoxicity, and nephrotoxicity. This systematic review also recognized that diastase activity, invertase activity, 5-hydroxymethylfurfural content, proline content, sugar content, amino acids, and vitamins could be used as indicators to distinguish fresh and stored honey based on the significant test (p-value) in the reported studies. However, all the reported studies used the simplest approach (one-way ANOVA) to identify the significant differences in the analyzed parameter during the storage period and none of them reported an approach to identify the most influential parameter at different storage conditions. In conclusion, orthogonal partial least squares discriminant analysis (supervised multivariate statistical tool) has to be employed in future studies to find the most influential parameter and could be used to potent chemical markers to distinguish fresh and stored honey because this analysis is incorporated with S-plot, variable importance of projection, and one-way ANOVA, which can produce the most accurate and precise results rather solely depending on one-way ANOVA.

Bee wisdom: exploring bee control strategies for food microflora by comparing the physicochemical characteristics and microbial composition of beebread

IMPORTANCE

Bees are a valuable model for investigating the relationship between environmental factors, gut microbiota, and organismal health. Beebread, produced from collected pollen, is a natural food source and a primary reservoir of gut microorganisms. Although pollen typically has diverse bacterial species, beebread has low species richness and bacterial abundance. Consequently, considerable attention has been paid to the adaptive strategies employed by honey bees to cope with the microorganisms within their food environment during co-evolution with plants. This study identified the distribution patterns of beebread's physicochemical characteristics, showing how bees use fermentation to enrich specific microbes. These findings help understand the relationship between environmental and food-associated microbes and bee intestinal microbiota. They also bridge gaps in the literature and provide a valuable reference for studying the complex interplay between these factors.

Metric and Spectral Insight into Bee-Pollen-to-Bee-Bread Transformation Process

Due to numerous bioactive constituents, both bee pollen (BP) and bee bread (BB) represent valuable food supplements. The transformation of BP into BB is a complex biochemical in-hive process that enables the preservation of the pollen's nutritional value. The aim of this study was to determine the depth of the honeycomb cells in which bees store pollen and to provide a spectral insight into the chemical changes that occur during the BP-to-BB transformation process. This study was carried out on three experimental colonies of Apis mellifera carnica, from which fresh BP was collected using pollen traps, while BB samples were manually extracted from the cells two weeks after BP sampling. The samples were analyzed using infrared (FTIR-ATR) spectroscopy, and the depth of the cells was measured using a caliper. The results showed that the average depth of the cells was 11.0 mm, and that the bees stored BB up to an average of 7.85 mm, thus covering between ⅔ and ¾ (71.4%) of the cell. The FTIR-ATR analysis revealed unique spectral profiles of both BP and BB, indicating compositional changes primarily reflected in a higher water content and an altered composition of the carbohydrate fraction (and, to a lesser extent, the lipid fraction) in BB compared to BP.

Identification and transcriptional profiling of UV-A-responsive genes in Bemisia tabaci

Ultraviolet-A (UV-A) radiation directly impacts the growth and spread of Bemisia tabaci. However, the mechanistic pathways of this phenomenon remain unknown. We analyzed B. tabaci transcriptome data after exposure to UV-A radiation for 6 h. The 453 genes were identified whose expression were significantly altered in response to the stress induced by UV-A irradiation. Forty genes were up-regulated, while 413 genes were down-regulated. Enrichment analysis using GO, KEGG, and Genomes databases revealed that the DEGs play key roles in antioxidation and detoxification, protein turnover, metabolic, developmental processes, and immunological response. Among the gene families involved in detoxification, shock, and development, down-regulated DEGs in transcriptional factor gene families were significantly greater than those up-regulated DEGs. Our findings demonstrated that exposure to UV-A stress can suppress immunity and affect the growth and biological parameters of B. tabaci by altering gene regulation. These results suggest a potential utility of UV-A stress in managing B. tabaci under greenhouse conditions.

Sub-cell scale features govern the placement of new cells by honeybees during comb construction

Honeybee comb architecture and the manner of its construction have long been the subject of scientific curiosity. Comb is characterised by an even hexagonal layout and the sharing of cell bases and side walls, which provides maximised storage volume while requiring minimal wax. The efficiency of this structure relies on a regular layout and the correct positioning of cells relative to each other, with each new cell placed at the junction of two previously constructed cells. This task is complicated by the incomplete nature of cells at the edge of comb, where new cells are to be built. We presented bees with wax stimuli comprising shallow depressions and protuberances in simulation of features found within partially formed comb, and demonstrated that construction work by honeybee builders was influenced by these stimuli. The building of new cells was aligned to concave stimuli that simulated the clefts that naturally appear between two partially formed cells, revealing how new cells may be aligned to ensure proper tessellation within comb. We also found that bees built cell walls in response to edges formed by our stimuli, suggesting that cell and wall construction was specifically directed towards the locations necessary for continuation of hexagonal comb.

Mechanistic effects of microwave radiation on pupal emergence in the leafminer fly, Liriomyza trifolii

Liriomyza trifolii is a significant pest of vegetable and ornamental crops across the globe. Microwave radiation has been used for controlling pests in stored products; however, there are few reports on the use of microwaves for eradicating agricultural pests such as L. trifolii, and its effects on pests at the molecular level is unclear. In this study, we show that microwave radiation inhibited the emergence of L. trifolii pupae. Transcriptomic studies of L. trifolii indicated significant enrichment of differentially expressed genes (DEGs) in 'post-translational modification, protein turnover, chaperones', 'sensory perception of pain/transcription repressor complex/zinc ion binding' and 'insulin signaling pathway' when analyzed with the Clusters of Orthologous Groups, Gene Ontology and the Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes databases, respectively. The top DEGs were related to reproduction, immunity and development and were significantly expressed after microwave radiation. Interestingly, there was no significant difference in the expression of genes encoding heat shock proteins or antioxidant enzymes in L. trifolii treated with microwave radiation as compared to the untreated control. The expression of DEGs encoding cuticular protein and protein takeout were silenced by RNA interference, and the results showed that knockdown of these two DEGs reduced the survival of L. trifolii exposed to microwave radiation. The results of this study help elucidate the molecular response of L. trifolii exposed to microwave radiation and provide novel ideas for control.