Project description:<p>Bee pollen is consumed for its nutritional and pharmacological benefits, but it also contains hazardous allergens which has not been identified. Here, we identified 2 potential allergens, glutaredoxin and oleosin-B2, in <em>Brassica napus</em> (<em>B. napus</em>) bee pollen using mass spectrometry-based proteomics analyses, and used bioinformatics to predict their antigenic epitopes. Comparison of fermented (by <em>Saccharomyces cerevisiae</em>) and unfermented bee pollen samples indicated that glutaredoxin and oleosin-B2 contents were significantly decreased following fermentation, while the contents of their major constituent oligopeptides and amino acids were significantly increased based on metabolomics analyses. Immunoblot analysis indicated that the IgE-binding affinity with extracted bee pollen proteins was also significantly decreased after fermentation, suggesting a reduction in the allergenicity of fermented bee pollen. Furthermore, fermentation apparently promoted the biosynthesis of L-valine, L-isoleucine, L-tryptophan and L-phenylalanine, as well as their precursors or intermediates. Thus, fermentation could potentially alleviate allergenicity, while also positively affecting nutritional properties of <em>B. napus</em> bee pollen. Our findings might provide a scientific foundation for improving the safety of bee pollen products to facilitate its wider application.</p>
Project description:We studied the molecular mechanisms underlying the impact of pollen nutrients on honey bee (Apis mellifera) health and how those nutrients improve resistance to parasites. Using digital gene expression, we determined the changes in gene expression induced by pollen intake in worker bees parasitized or not by the mites Varroa destructor, known for suppressing immunity and decreasing lifespan of bees.
Project description:We studied the molecular mechanisms underlying the impact of pollen nutrients on honey bee (Apis mellifera) health and how those nutrients improve resistance to parasites. Using digital gene expression, we determined the changes in gene expression induced by pollen intake in worker bees parasitized or not by the mites Varroa destructor, known for suppressing immunity and decreasing lifespan of bees. bees with or without verroa, and fed or not fed pollen
