Barrier immune effectors are maintained during transition from nurse to forager in the honey bee.

ABSTRACT: Foragers facilitate horizontal pathogen transmission in honey bee colonies, yet their systemic immune function wanes during transition to this life stage. In general, the insect immune system can be categorized into mechanisms operating at both the barrier epithelial surfaces and at the systemic level. As proposed by the intergenerational transfer theory of aging, such immunosenescence may result from changes in group resource allocation. Yet, the relative influence of pathogen transmission and resource allocation on immune function in bees from different stages has not been examined in the context of barrier immunity. We find that expression levels of antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) in honey bee barrier epithelia of the digestive tract do not follow a life stage-dependent decrease. In addit

SUBMITTER: Jefferson JM 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3540063 | biostudies-literature | 2013

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature