The changes of age-related molecules in the trophocytes and fat cells of queen honeybees (Apis mellifera)

Queen honeybees (Apis mellifera) have much longer lifespans than worker bees. Although the expression of age-related molecules in the trophocytes and fat cells of young and old workers have been determined, the expression of age-related molecules in queens is unknown. In this study, we examined the expression of age-related molecules in the trophocytes and fat cells of young and old queens. Molecular analyses detected no differences in telomerase activity or telomere lengths between trophocytes and fat cells from young and old queens, indicating that these cells do not divide in adulthood. Further assays showed that old queens has higher non-homogeneous cellular morphology, senescence-associated beta-galactosidase (SA-beta-Gal) activity, accumulation of lipofuscin granules, lipid peroxidation, and protein oxidation compared to young queens. These results demonstrate that age-related molecules can be used to evaluate aging in the trophocytes and fat cells of queens and to lay the foundation for further study of the mechanisms that delay cellular aging in the trophocytes and fat cells of queens.