Modeling disruption of Apis mellifera (honey bee) odorant‐binding protein function with high‐affinity binders

• DOI: 10.1002/jmr.3008
• Publication Date: 2023-02-16T02:38:05Z
• Authors: Berin Karaman Mayack
• Keywords: Odorant-binding protein; Binding affinities

Chemical toxins pose a great threat to honey bee health because they affect memory and cognition, diminish immunity, increase susceptibility infection, resulting in decreased colony performance, reproduction, survival. Although the behavioral effects of sub-lethal chemical exposure on bees have been intensively studied, how xenobiotics olfaction, at molecular level, still needs be elucidated. In present work, silico tools, such as docking, binding free energy calculations, dynamics simulations are used predict if environmental chemicals stronger affinities antennal odorant-binding protein 14 (OBP14) than representative floral odors citralva, eugenol, fluorescent probe 1-N-phenylnaphthylamine. Based structural analysis, 21 from crop pesticides, household appliances, cosmetics, food, public health-related products, other sources, many which pervasive hive environment, higher odors. These results suggest that exposures likely interfere with bee's sense smell this disruptive mechanism may responsible for lower associative learning based olfaction found exposed pesticides. Moreover, mainly rely olfactory cues perceive their environment orient themselves well discriminate identify predators, nestmates, diseased individuals need removed hygienic behavior. summary, can contribute collapse several ways disruption proper functioning.