TOTAL PROTEIN AMOUNT IN BRAIN AND GLANDS OF EUROPEAN AND AFRICANIZED HONEYBEES

Polyethism is important because it allows worker honeybees to perform a variety of tasks that are important to the colony's survival. The honeybee's brain and glands are essential to the development of these tasks. In this study, we investigate the total protein amount of four major glands and the brain during the first 30 d of adult life between Africanized and European honeybees (Apis mellifera). The brain, hypopharyngeal, mandibular, cephalic, and thoracic salivary glands of adults workers from newborn to 30 d of age (at intervals of 5 d per sampling age) were dissected and the total protein amount was measured in a pool of 10 structures per age/repetition (with three repetitions) using the Bradford protein assay. The heads of the honeybee subspecies were also measured. We confirmed the significantly smaller head size of Africanized honeybees compared to European honeybees, which probably impacted the reduced amount of total protein in hypopharyngeal and cephalic salivary glands in this honeybee. The brain protein amount, however, remained similar between the two subspecies. Despite that, the mandibular and thoracic salivary glands in Africanized honeybees showed more total protein amount. Finally, we find that Africanized and European honeybees showed some difference in total protein amount peak pattern, which may be due to differences in the life span, genetics, and/or environment that those honeybees live in.