Animals with recent shared ancestry frequently adapt in parallel to new but similar habitats, a process often underlined by repeated selection of the same genes. Yet, in contrast, few examples have demonstrated the significance of gene reuse in colonization of multiple disparate habitats. By analyzing 343 genomes of the widespread Asian honeybee, Apis cerana, we showed that multiple peripheral subspecies radiated from a central ancestral population and adapted independently to diverse habitats. We found strong evidence of gene reuse in the Leucokinin receptor (Lkr), which was repeatedly selected in almost all peripheral subspecies. Differential expression and RNA interference knockdown revealed the role of Lkr in influencing foraging labor division, suggesting that Lkr facilitates collective tendency for pollen/nectar collection as an adaptation to floral changes. Our results suggest that honeybees may accommodate diverse floral shifts during rapid radiation through fine-tuning individual foraging tendency, a seemingly complex process accomplished by gene reuse.

Honeybees are the most critical pollinators providing key ecosystem services that underpin crop production and sustainable agriculture. Amidst a backdrop of rapid global change, this eusocial insect encounters a succession of stressors during nesting, foraging, and pollination. Ectoparasitic mites, together with vectored viruses, have been recognized as central biotic threats to honeybee health, while the spread of invasive giant hornets and small hive beetles also increasingly threatens colonies worldwide. Cocktails of agrochemicals, including acaricides used for mite treatment, and other pollutants of the environment have been widely documented to affect bee health in various ways. Additionally, expanding urbanization, climate change, and agricultural intensification often result in the destruction or fragmentation of flower‐rich bee habitats. The anthropogenic pressures exerted by beekeeping management practices affect the natural selection and evolution of honeybees, and colony translocations facilitate alien species invasion and disease transmission. In this review, the multiple biotic and abiotic threats and their interactions that potentially undermine bee colony health are discussed, while taking into consideration the sensitivity, large foraging area, dense network among related nestmates, and social behaviors of honeybees.

Most of the proteins contained in royal jelly (RJ) are secreted from the hypopharyngeal glands (HG) of young bees. Although generic protein composition of RJ has been investigated, little is known about how age-dependent changes on HG secretion affect RJ composition and their biological consequences. In this study, we identified differentially expressed proteins (DEPs) during HG development by using the isobaric tag for relative and absolute quantification (iTRAQ) labeling technique. This proteomic method increases the potential for new protein discovery by improving the identification of low quantity proteins. A total of 1282 proteins were identified from five age groups of worker bees, 284 of which were differentially expressed. 43 (15.1%) of the DEPs were identified for the first time. Comparison of samples at day 6, 9, 12, and 16 of development relative to day 3 led to the unambiguous identification of 112, 117, 127, and 127 DEPs, respectively. The majority of these DEPs were up-regulated in the older worker groups, indicating a substantial change in the pattern of proteins expressed after 3 days. DEPs were identified among all the age groups, suggesting that changes in protein expression during HG ontogeny are concomitant with different states of worker development. A total of 649 proteins were mapped to canonical signaling pathways found in the Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG), which were preferentially associated with metabolism and biosynthesis of secondary metabolites. More than 10 key high-abundance proteins were involved in signaling pathways related to ribosome function and protein processing in the endoplasmic reticulum. The results were validated by qPCR. Our approach demonstrates that HG experienced important changes in protein expression during its ontogenic development, which supports the secretion of proteins involved in diverse functions in adult workers beyond its traditional role in royal jelly production.

Transcriptome sequencing has become the main methodology for analyzing the relationship between genes and characteristics of interests, particularly those associated with diseases and economic traits. Because of its role of functional food for humans, commercial royal jelly (RJ) and its production are major research focuses in the field of apiculture. Multiple lines of evidence have demonstrated that many factors affect RJ output by activating or inhibiting various target genes and signaling pathways. Available coding sequences from the Honey Bee Genome Sequencing Consortium have permitted a pathway-based approach for investigating the development of the hypopharyngeal glands (HGs). In the present study, 3573941, 3562730, 3551541, 3524453, and 3615558 clean reads were obtained from the HGs of five full-sister honey bee samples using Solexa RNA sequencing technology. These reads were then assembled into 18378, 17785, 17065, 17105, and 17995 unigenes, respectively, and aligned to the DFCI Honey Bee Gene Index database. The differentially expressed genes (DEGs) data were also correlated with detailed morphological data for HGs acini.