Poor Air Quality Is Linked to Stress in Honeybees and Can Be Compounded by the Presence of Disease
Climate change-related extreme weather events have manifested in the western United States as warmer and drier conditions with an increased risk of wildfires. Honeybees, essential for crop pollination in California, are at the center of these extreme weather events. We associated the maximum daily t...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2023-08-01
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| Series: | Insects |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2075-4450/14/8/689 |
| _version_ | 1797584350077779968 |
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| author | Christopher Mayack Sarah E. Cook Bernardo D. Niño Laura Rivera Elina L. Niño Arathi Seshadri |
| author_facet | Christopher Mayack Sarah E. Cook Bernardo D. Niño Laura Rivera Elina L. Niño Arathi Seshadri |
| author_sort | Christopher Mayack |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Climate change-related extreme weather events have manifested in the western United States as warmer and drier conditions with an increased risk of wildfires. Honeybees, essential for crop pollination in California, are at the center of these extreme weather events. We associated the maximum daily temperature and air quality index values with the performance of colonies placed in wildfire-prone areas and determined the impact of these abiotic stressors on gene expression and histopathology. Our results indicate that poor air quality was associated with higher maximum daily temperatures and a lower gene expression level of Prophenoloxidase (<i>ProPO</i>), which is tied to immune system strength; however, a higher gene expression level of Vitellogenin (<i>Vg</i>) is tied to oxidative stress. There was a positive relationship between <i>Varroa</i> mites and <i>N. ceranae</i> pathogen loads, and a negative correlation between <i>Varroa</i> mites and Heat Shock Protein 70 (<i>HSP70</i>) gene expression, suggesting the limited ability of mite-infested colonies to buffer against extreme temperatures. Histological analyses did not reveal overt signs of interaction between pathology and abiotic stressors, but <i>N. ceranae</i> infections were evident. Our study provides insights into interactions between abiotic stressors, their relation to common biotic stressors, and the expression of genes related to immunity and oxidative stress in bees. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-10T23:51:37Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-985711fb55774e988e3adb3c0f7f846e |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2075-4450 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-10T23:51:37Z |
| publishDate | 2023-08-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Insects |
| spelling | doaj.art-985711fb55774e988e3adb3c0f7f846e2023-11-19T01:36:33ZengMDPI AGInsects2075-44502023-08-0114868910.3390/insects14080689Poor Air Quality Is Linked to Stress in Honeybees and Can Be Compounded by the Presence of DiseaseChristopher Mayack0Sarah E. Cook1Bernardo D. Niño2Laura Rivera3Elina L. Niño4Arathi Seshadri5USDA/ARS/WRRC, Invasive Species and Pollinator Health Research Unit, Davis, CA 95616, USASpecialtyVETPATH, 3450 16th Ave. W. Ste 303, Seattle, WA 98119, USAUSDA/ARS/WRRC, Invasive Species and Pollinator Health Research Unit, Davis, CA 95616, USAUSDA/ARS/WRRC, Invasive Species and Pollinator Health Research Unit, Davis, CA 95616, USADepartment of Entomology and Nematology, University of California, 1 Shields Avenue, Davis, CA 95616, USAUSDA/ARS/WRRC, Invasive Species and Pollinator Health Research Unit, Davis, CA 95616, USAClimate change-related extreme weather events have manifested in the western United States as warmer and drier conditions with an increased risk of wildfires. Honeybees, essential for crop pollination in California, are at the center of these extreme weather events. We associated the maximum daily temperature and air quality index values with the performance of colonies placed in wildfire-prone areas and determined the impact of these abiotic stressors on gene expression and histopathology. Our results indicate that poor air quality was associated with higher maximum daily temperatures and a lower gene expression level of Prophenoloxidase (<i>ProPO</i>), which is tied to immune system strength; however, a higher gene expression level of Vitellogenin (<i>Vg</i>) is tied to oxidative stress. There was a positive relationship between <i>Varroa</i> mites and <i>N. ceranae</i> pathogen loads, and a negative correlation between <i>Varroa</i> mites and Heat Shock Protein 70 (<i>HSP70</i>) gene expression, suggesting the limited ability of mite-infested colonies to buffer against extreme temperatures. Histological analyses did not reveal overt signs of interaction between pathology and abiotic stressors, but <i>N. ceranae</i> infections were evident. Our study provides insights into interactions between abiotic stressors, their relation to common biotic stressors, and the expression of genes related to immunity and oxidative stress in bees.https://www.mdpi.com/2075-4450/14/8/689air quality index<i>Apis mellifera</i>HSP70<i>Nosema ceranae</i>temperature stressvitellogenin |
| spellingShingle | Christopher Mayack Sarah E. Cook Bernardo D. Niño Laura Rivera Elina L. Niño Arathi Seshadri Poor Air Quality Is Linked to Stress in Honeybees and Can Be Compounded by the Presence of Disease Insects air quality index <i>Apis mellifera</i> HSP70 <i>Nosema ceranae</i> temperature stress vitellogenin |
| title | Poor Air Quality Is Linked to Stress in Honeybees and Can Be Compounded by the Presence of Disease |
| title_full | Poor Air Quality Is Linked to Stress in Honeybees and Can Be Compounded by the Presence of Disease |
| title_fullStr | Poor Air Quality Is Linked to Stress in Honeybees and Can Be Compounded by the Presence of Disease |
| title_full_unstemmed | Poor Air Quality Is Linked to Stress in Honeybees and Can Be Compounded by the Presence of Disease |
| title_short | Poor Air Quality Is Linked to Stress in Honeybees and Can Be Compounded by the Presence of Disease |
| title_sort | poor air quality is linked to stress in honeybees and can be compounded by the presence of disease |
| topic | air quality index <i>Apis mellifera</i> HSP70 <i>Nosema ceranae</i> temperature stress vitellogenin |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2075-4450/14/8/689 |
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