Year: 2025
Type: article
Abstract: Objective The amino acid content of plant nectar affects the collecting preference of bees.Previous research found that nectar-rich Camellia oleifera flowers were unattractive to foragers，leading to low efficiency of bees pollinating C. oleifera to increase yields.This experiment aims to compare the types and contents of amino acids in the nectar of three different species to investigate the effects of the amino acid composition of C. oleifera.nectar on Apis mellifera，thus providing new ideas for improving the pollination efficiency of honey bees on C. oleifera. Method Three types of C. oleifera nectar were used for the study，and the amino acid types and absolute contents of different varieties of Camellia oleifera nectar were detected by liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry（LC/MS）.The effects of the highest levels of amino acids（L-Glutamine）in C. oleifera nectar on the expression of genes related to longevity，immunity and detoxification in western honey bees were also assessed. Result （1）Gan 447，Changlin 18 and Gan 68 C. oleifera nectar all contained 19 of the 21 amino acids，but there were differences in the fractions and concentrations，among which，glycine and cysteine were not detected in Gan 447 and Changlin 18 C. oleifera nectar，while asparagine and cysteine were not detected in Gan 68 C. oleifera nectar.（2）The content of L-glutamine was the highest in the three oil tea nectars，including Gan 447 oil tea nectar，which was as high as（1 612.63±17.85）mg/kg，and the content of proline（Pro）and γ-aminobutyric acid（GABA）in the three C. oleifera nectars were low（<100 mg/kg）.（3）The addition of L-glutamine at the same dose as that in the nectar of Gan 447（1 610 mg/kg）to the diet had no significant effect on the lifespan of Western honeybee（Apis mellifera）workers（P>0.05），Nor does it induce the upregulated expression of the worker bees’ detoxification genes ［defensin 1（Defensin1）and abaecin（Abaecin）］as well as immune genes ［cytochrome P450（Cytochrome P450，CYP450），glutathione S-transferase 3（GSTS3），and catalase（Catalase）］. Conclusion High levels of L-glutamine in C. oleifera nectar do not threaten the survival of A. mellifera workers.Lower levels of proline and GABA in C. oleifera nectar may contribute to the weaker attractiveness of C. oleifera flowers to A. mellifera.
DOI: 10.3724/aauj.2025143
Language: English
Subfield: Insect Science
Domain: Life Sciences
SDG: Zero hunger
Open Access status: bronze
Awards: G220029841, G2391480645
OpenAlex ID: W7125629825
FWCI:
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