A broader understanding of honey bee immunity is crucial, given the numerous threats modern honey bees are facing. Hemocytes play a central role in immune responses, making it essential to identify the different hemocyte subtypes.
In our new paper, we explored the hemocyte surfaceome using proteomics and transcriptomics. This work takes the first step towards an objective, marker-based classification of honey bee hemocytes by proposing candidate cell surface markers.
Surprisingly, our gene ontology analysis revealed the term “odorant receptor activity”, typically associated with sensory neurons. This raises questions about whether hemocytes may use similar receptors to sense environmental or pathogen-derived signals.
This study provides a foundation for future research into honey bee immunity and the development of monoclonal antibodies for immunophenotyping.
Better-B has received funding from the European Union, the Swiss State Secretariat for Education, Research and Innovation (SERI) and UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) under the UK government's Horizon Europe funding guarantee (grant number 10068544).
Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union, European Research Executive Agency (REA), SERI or UKRI. Neither the European Union nor the granting authorities can be held responsible for them.
