EUROPEAN JOURNAL OF ENTOMOLOGY

Eur. J. Entomol. 119: 448-453, 2022 | DOI: 10.14411/eje.2022.047

The role of 10-hydroxy-Δ²-decenoic acid in the formation of fibrils of the major royal jelly protein 1/apisimin/24-methylenecholesterol complex isolated from honey bee (Apis mellifera) royal jellyOriginal article

Anja BUTTSTEDT ORCID...^{1, 2}

¹ B CUBE - Center for Molecular Bioengineering, Technische Universität Dresden, Tatzberg 41, 01307 Dresden, Germany; e-mail: anja.buttstedt@gmail.com

² Social Insects Research Group, Department of Zoology and Entomology, University of Pretoria, Private Bag X20, Hatfield 0028, Pretoria, South Africa

Queen larvae of the honey bee (Apis mellifera) are fed with royal jelly, a glandular secretion produced by the hypopharyngeal and mandibular glands of worker honey bees. The necessary consistency of royal jelly is dependent on a protein-sterol complex (MRJP1₄/apisimin₄/24MC₈). At low pH, this complex forms fibrillar structures, which increase the viscosity of royal jelly. While the proteins in this complex are produced in the hypopharyngeal gland, the low pH is achieved by the secretion of the mandibular gland, which contains fatty acids. It is shown for the first time that fibril formation of MRJP1₄/apisimin₄/24MC₈ is not only induced by low pH via a buffer system, but also by the addition of the major fatty acid 10-hydroxy-Δ²-decenoic acid (10-HDA) of the mandibular gland secretion. This result further substantiates that fibril formation of the MRJP1₄/apisimin₄/24MC₈ complex only occurs after mixing the hypopharyngeal and mandibular gland secretions.

Keywords: Hymenoptera, Apidae, queen rearing, food jelly, mandibular gland, hypopharyngeal gland, 10-HDA, MRJP1

Received: August 22, 2022; Revised: December 5, 2022; Accepted: December 5, 2022; Published online: December 14, 2022  Show citation