Journal article

Characters that differ between diploid and haploid honey bee (Apis mellifera) drones


Authors listMatthias, H; Trenczek, T; Fahrenhorst, H; Engels, W

Publication year2005

Pages624-641

JournalGenetics and molecular research

Volume number4

Issue number4

URLhttps://www.geneticsmr.com/sites/default/files/articles/year2005/vol4-4/pdf/gmr0105.pdf

PublisherFUNPEC-EDITORA


Abstract

Diploid
males have long been considered a curiosity contradictory to the
haplo-diploid mode of sex determination in the Hymenoptera. In Apis mellifera,
‘false’ diploid male larvae are eliminated by worker cannibalism
immediately after hatching. A ‘cannibalism substance’ produced by
diploid drone larvae to induce worker-assisted suicide has been
hypothesized, but it has never been detected. Diploid drones are only
removed some hours after hatching. Older larvae are evidently not
regarded as ‘false males’ and instead are regularly nursed by the
brood-attending worker bees. As the pheromonal cues presumably are
located on the surface of newly hatched bee larvae, we extracted the
cuticular secretions and analyzed their chemical composition by gas
chromatograph-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) analyses. Larvae were sexed
and then reared in vitro for up to three days. The GC-MS
pattern that was obtained, with alkanes as the major compounds, was
compared between diploid and haploid drone larvae. We also examined
some physical parameters of adult drones. There was no difference
between diploid and haploid males in their weight at the day of
emergence. The diploid adult drones had fewer wing hooks and smaller
testes. The sperm DNA content was 0.30 and 0.15 pg per nucleus, giving
an exact 2:1 ratio for the gametocytes of diploid and haploid drones,
respectively. Vitellogenin was found in the hemolymph of both types
of imaginal drones at 5 to 6 days, with a significantly lower titer in
the diploids.




Citation Styles

Harvard Citation styleMatthias, H., Trenczek, T., Fahrenhorst, H. and Engels, W. (2005) Characters that differ between diploid and haploid honey bee (Apis mellifera) drones, Genetics and molecular research, 4(4), pp. 624-641. https://www.geneticsmr.com/sites/default/files/articles/year2005/vol4-4/pdf/gmr0105.pdf

APA Citation styleMatthias, H., Trenczek, T., Fahrenhorst, H., & Engels, W. (2005). Characters that differ between diploid and haploid honey bee (Apis mellifera) drones. Genetics and molecular research. 4(4), 624-641. https://www.geneticsmr.com/sites/default/files/articles/year2005/vol4-4/pdf/gmr0105.pdf


Last updated on 2025-21-05 at 15:24