Phytochemical profiles of honey bees (Apis mellifera) and their larvae differ from the composition of their pollen diet

TY - JOUR

T1 - Phytochemical profiles of honey bees (Apis mellifera) and their larvae differ from the composition of their pollen diet

AU - Vidkjær, Nanna Hjort

AU - Laursen, Bente B.

AU - Kryger, Per

N1 - Publisher Copyright: © 2024 The Authors.

PY - 2024/9/25

Y1 - 2024/9/25

N2 - Pollen and nectar consumed by honey bees contain plant secondary metabolites (PSMs) with vital roles in plant-insect interactions. While PSMs can be toxic to bees, they can also be health-promoting, e.g. by improving pesticide and pathogen tolerances. As xenobiotics, PSMs undergo post-ingestion chemical modifications that can affect their bioactivity and transmission to the brood. Despite the importance of understanding honey bee PSM metabolism and distribution for elucidating bioactivity mechanisms, these aspects remain largely unexplored. In this study, we used HPLC-MS/MS to profile 47 pollen PSMs in honey bees and larvae. Both adult bees and larvae had distinct PSM profiles that differed from their diet. This is likely due to post-ingestion metabolism and compound-dependent variations in PSM transmission to the brood via nurse bee jelly. Phenolic acids and flavonoid aglycones were most abundant in bees and larvae, whereas alkaloids, cyanogenic glycosides and diterpenoids had the lowest abundance despite being consumed in higher concentrations. This study documents larval exposure to a variety of PSMs for the first time, with concentrations increasing from early to late larval instars. Our findings provide novel insights into the post-ingestion fate of PSMs in honey bees, providing a foundation for further exploration of biotransformation pathways and PSM effects on honey bee health.

AB - Pollen and nectar consumed by honey bees contain plant secondary metabolites (PSMs) with vital roles in plant-insect interactions. While PSMs can be toxic to bees, they can also be health-promoting, e.g. by improving pesticide and pathogen tolerances. As xenobiotics, PSMs undergo post-ingestion chemical modifications that can affect their bioactivity and transmission to the brood. Despite the importance of understanding honey bee PSM metabolism and distribution for elucidating bioactivity mechanisms, these aspects remain largely unexplored. In this study, we used HPLC-MS/MS to profile 47 pollen PSMs in honey bees and larvae. Both adult bees and larvae had distinct PSM profiles that differed from their diet. This is likely due to post-ingestion metabolism and compound-dependent variations in PSM transmission to the brood via nurse bee jelly. Phenolic acids and flavonoid aglycones were most abundant in bees and larvae, whereas alkaloids, cyanogenic glycosides and diterpenoids had the lowest abundance despite being consumed in higher concentrations. This study documents larval exposure to a variety of PSMs for the first time, with concentrations increasing from early to late larval instars. Our findings provide novel insights into the post-ingestion fate of PSMs in honey bees, providing a foundation for further exploration of biotransformation pathways and PSM effects on honey bee health.

KW - alkaloids

KW - bee health

KW - flavonoids

KW - phenolic acids

KW - plant secondary metabolites

KW - post-ingestion metabolism

UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85205314615&partnerID=8YFLogxK

U2 - 10.1098/rsos.231654

DO - 10.1098/rsos.231654

M3 - Journal article

C2 - 39323556

AN - SCOPUS:85205314615

SN - 2054-5703

VL - 11

JO - Royal Society Open Science

JF - Royal Society Open Science

IS - 9

M1 - 231654

ER -