Molecular Motors and MRJPs in the Honeybee Brain (Apis mellifera L.)
Luciana Karen Calábria, Leonardo Gomes Peixoto, Renata Roland Teixeira, Viviane Rodrigues Alves de Moraes, Claudia Tavares dos Santos, Andréa Andrade Vilela, Foued Salmen Espindola
Universidade Federal de Uberlândia, Instituto de Genética e Bioquímica, Laboratório de Bioquímica e Biologia Molecular
The intriguing characteristics of the honeybee (Apis mellifera) has been motivating the study of its biological features such as its brain mechanisms, the impressive memory and learning capacity. In addition to its behavioral organization, the Apis mellifera has a set of putative genes that provides the best match to human genes. Most of them encode factors related to cell signaling/signal transduction (NUNES et al, BMC Genomics 5(1):84. 2004). Molecular motors like dynein, myosins class V and VI are microtubule and actin motors involved in axonal/dendritic transport of vesicle cargo in neurons. Honeybee is therefore, an interesting model to study molecular motors. We report here the identification and localization in the brain of the worker bee of these molecular motors and several other proteins using antibodies to DLC1, SNAREs, clathrin, CaM-Kinase II and the major royal jelly proteins (MRJPs). The anti-myosin V immunoreactive protein shows association with the cytoskeleton in the membrane vesicle-enriched fraction and ATP-dependent solubility. Western blot analyse of bee brain homogenate showed three polypeptides (p57, p70, p128) that cross-reacted to the anti-MRJP1. Immunolocalization data revealed specific distribution of the MRJP to distinct honeybee brain areas. These biochemical and immunohistochemical data showing the presence of molecular motors and other potential neuronal markers are important tools to describe, in a molecular basis, the nervous and visual system of honeybees in different development, caste and behavior condition.
Support by: CAPES; FAPEMIG; CNPq, UFU and Apiário Girassol.
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