Occasional and constant exposure to dietary ethanol shortens the lifespan of worker honey bees.

Autor: Ostap-Chec M; Doctoral School of Exact and Natural Sciences, Jagiellonian University, Prof. St. Łojasiewicza 11 St., 30-348, Kraków, Poland. ostap.monika@gmail.com.; Institute of Environmental Sciences, Faculty of Biology, Jagiellonian University, Gronostajowa 7 St., 30-387 , Kraków, Poland. ostap.monika@gmail.com., Bajorek D; Institute of Systematics and Evolution of Animals of the Polish Academy of Sciences, Sławkowska 17 St., 31-016, Kraków, Poland., Antoł W; Institute of Systematics and Evolution of Animals of the Polish Academy of Sciences, Sławkowska 17 St., 31-016, Kraków, Poland., Stec D; Institute of Systematics and Evolution of Animals of the Polish Academy of Sciences, Sławkowska 17 St., 31-016, Kraków, Poland., Miler K; Institute of Systematics and Evolution of Animals of the Polish Academy of Sciences, Sławkowska 17 St., 31-016, Kraków, Poland. miler@isez.pan.krakow.pl.
Jazyk: angličtina
Zdroj: Journal of comparative physiology. B, Biochemical, systemic, and environmental physiology [J Comp Physiol B] 2024 Aug; Vol. 194 (4), pp. 403-410. Date of Electronic Publication: 2024 Jun 17.
DOI: 10.1007/s00360-024-01571-3
Abstrakt: Honey bees (Apis mellifera) are one of the most crucial pollinators, providing vital ecosystem services. Their development and functioning depend on essential nutrients and substances found in the environment. While collecting nectar as a vital carbohydrate source, bees routinely encounter low doses of ethanol from yeast fermentation. Yet, the effects of repeated ethanol exposure on bees' survival and physiology remain poorly understood. Here, we investigate the impacts of constant and occasional consumption of food spiked with 1% ethanol on honey bee mortality and alcohol dehydrogenase (ADH) activity. This ethanol concentration might be tentatively judged close to that in natural conditions. We conducted an experiment in which bees were exposed to three types of long-term diets: constant sugar solution (control group that simulated conditions of no access to ethanol), sugar solution spiked with ethanol every third day (that simulated occasional, infrequent exposure to ethanol) and daily ethanol consumption (simulating constant, routine exposure to ethanol). The results revealed that both constant and occasional ethanol consumption increased the mortality of bees, but only after several days. These mortality rates rose with the frequency of ethanol intake. The ADH activity remained similar in bees from all groups. Our findings indicate that exposure of bees to ethanol carries harmful effects that accumulate over time. Further research is needed to pinpoint the exact ethanol doses ingested with food and exposure frequency in bees in natural conditions.
(© 2024. The Author(s).)
Databáze: MEDLINE
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