BBKA Forum

British Beekeepers Association Official Forum 

  • A dietary phytochemical alters caste-associated gene expression in honey bees

  • Queen breeding specialism discussion forum.
Queen breeding specialism discussion forum.
 #2242  by Chrisbarlow
 07 Mar 2019, 17:26
If I understand this correctly, its saying that it not just royal jelly that makes a queen but the lack of bee bread means her ovaries can develop.

In the eusocial honey bee Apis mellifera, with reproductive queens and sterile workers, a female larva’s developmental fate depends on its diet; nurse bees feed queen-destined larvae exclusively royal jelly, a glandular secretion, but worker-destined larvae receive royal jelly for 3 days and subsequently jelly to which honey and beebread are added. RNA-Seq analysis demonstrated that p-coumaric acid, which is ubiquitous in honey and beebread, differentially regulates genes involved in caste determination. Rearing larvae in vitro on a royal jelly diet to which p-coumaric acid has been added produces adults with reduced ovary development. Thus, consuming royal jelly exclusively not only enriches the diet of queen-destined larvae but also may protect them from inhibitory effects of phytochemicals present in the honey and beebread fed to worker-destined larvae.

http://advances.sciencemag.org/content/1/7/e1500795

so does this mean that when I say royal jelly makes a queen I should be adding, and a lack of worker food allows her to reach her full potential?
 #2243  by Jim Norfolk
 07 Mar 2019, 17:56
Its a very long time since I studied Biochemistry but basically it appears some phenolic compounds found in pollen fed to larvae inhibit ovary development in workers through effects on their genes. Royal jelly fed to queens lacks these compounds so queens develop normal ovaries. Nature is so ingenious.

An interesting piece of research but not sure of the direct relevence to beekeeping. It is after all the workers who decide what to feed not the beekeeper, but I wonder whether artificial food supplements which don't contain pollen, result in workers with larger ovaries.