Angry bees produce better venom

Curtin researchers revealed how behavioral and ecological factors influence the quality of bee venom, a product widely known for its effective treatment of degenerative and infectious diseases such as Parkinson’s disease and osteoarthritis.

The study, published in PLOS ONE, analyzed for the first time the diversity of proteins in bee venom produced by the western honey bee in the marri ecosystem of southwest Australia.

Principal investigator Dr Daniela Scaccabarozzi, from Curtin’s School of Molecular and Life Sciences and research consultant at ChemCentre, said the research would be of substantial benefit to both human health and the lucrative beekeeping business. , where bee venom is sold for up to $ 300 per gram.

“We found that there are 99 bee venom proteins of which about a third had been identified previously. The more protein there is in the venom, the higher the quality and potential effect,” said the Dr Scaccabarozzi.

“To understand the protein diversity in bee venom and find out the factors that impacted it, the multidisciplinary research team looked at a range of factors, including bee behavior patterns.

“A compelling behavioral factor has been revealed by the association between docile and active bees. Interestingly, we found that the “angry bees” that reacted intensely to our stimulation devices produced bee venom that was richer and more protein dense.

“The overall amount of venom released by bees depends on the secretion of alarm pheromones that cause other bees to react aggressively by stinging. This may be the result of genetic changes that can cause aggression in the bees.”

Dr Scaccabarozzi said the team also confirmed that temperature has an impact on the protein composition of bee venom.

“High temperatures can adversely affect bee activity in and out of colonies. Of the 25 beehives tested, we found that sites with higher temperatures experienced lower venom production,” said Dr Scaccabarozzi.

“This met our expectations that seasonal factors cause a change in the protein profile of bee venom. The optimum range for high protein diversity is 33 to 36 degrees Celsius.”

Other findings also revealed that geographic location had an impact on the makeup of bee venom, as well as what stage the flowers were in during harvest when consumed by bees.

Dr Scaccabarozzi said further research would help beekeepers collect a standardized quality of venom to meet growing demand in clinical and therapeutic fields, as well as design cost-effective strategies for harvesting bee venom to to secure its position in the world market.

Honey bee (Apis Mellifera Ligustica) venom was collected during the flowering season of Corymbia Calophylla (Marri) from 25 hives near Harvey in southwest Australia.