Worker heterozygosity and immune response in feral and managed honeybees (Apis mellifera)
E. C. Lowe A , L. W. Simmons A and B. Baer A B C
+ Author Affiliations
- Author Affiliations
A Centre for Evolutionary Biology, School of Animal Biology (M092), The University of Western Australia, Crawley, WA 6009, Australia.
B ARC Centre of Excellence in Plant Energy Biology, Bayliss Building, The University of Western Australia, Crawley, WA 6009, Australia.
C Corresponding author. Email: boris.baer@uwa.edu.au
Australian Journal of Zoology 59(2) 73-78 https://doi.org/10.1071/ZO11041
Submitted: 21 June 2011 Accepted: 5 September 2011 Published: 7 October 2011
Abstract
Genetic diversity in workers influences colony immunity in several species of eusocial insects. Much less work has been conducted to test for comparable effects of worker heterozygosity, a measure of genetic diversity within an individual. Here we present a field study using the honeybee (Apis mellifera) and sampled foraging workers throughout Western Australia. Samples were taken from feral and managed colonies, aiming to maximise the variation in worker and colony heterozygosity. We quantified worker heterozygosity using microsatellites, and tested the idea that individual worker heterozygosity predicts immune response, measured as the enzymatic activity of an antimicrobial peptide phenoloxidase (PO) and encapsulation response. We found substantial variation in worker heterozygosity, but no significant effects of heterozygosity on PO activity or encapsulation response, either on the individual or colony level. Heterozygosity was found to be higher in workers of feral colonies compared with managed colonies. Colonies kept in husbandry, as compared with colonies from the field, had significantly higher levels of PO activity and encapsulation response, providing evidence for substantial environmental effects on individual and colony immunity.
Additional keywords: encapsulation response, genetic diversity, immunity, phenoloxidase activity.
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