The influence of a juvenile hormone analog on a major royal jelly gene in Apis mellifera

In honey bees, Apis mellifera, the onset of foraging is determined by age, where older workers transition from nursing to foraging tasks. This switch in task is mediated by the endocrine system with specific hormones being correlated with the onset of gene expression patterns that characterize the physiology of the worker. One such hormone is juvenile hormone (JH), a sesquiterpenoid typically involved in metamorphosis and reproduction, which has been repurposed in workers to influence task plasticity, showing an increase in titer during foraging. JH is also associated with the expression of nutritionally linked genes such as vitellogenins and hexamerins which indicates a potential role in nutrient signaling. Major royal jelly protein (mrjp1) is differentially expressed between nurses and foragers. In A. mellifera, mrjp1 is a critical component in the synthesis of royal jelly which is secreted by nurse bees. Royal jelly is fed to the brood and contributes to queen differentiation and development. In this study we looked at the gene expression level of mrjps after topical application of a JH analog, methoprene. Nurse bees were collected from managed hives and the effects of methoprene were studied at six and twelve hour timepoints. At these time points, bees were flash frozen and qPCR analysis was used to determine the mrjp expression levels between control and treatment groups. Studying nutrient signaling modes can help us better understand the process of task allocation and foraging behaviors to promote healthy environments for pollinators.