Variations in Heat Shock Proteins between Different Honey Bees and Bee Taxa Utilizing Bioinformatics

Abstract

The changes in climate and exposure of pollinators to heat stress are among the major concerns in the agricultural communities. Bees from different taxa have a great role in plant pollination. The exposure of bees to heat stress induces the expression of heat shock proteins (HSPs) to protect the body cells. Many studies have investigated the variations in the expression levels of HSPs and analyzed their amino acid sequences. Currently, databases for sequences of HSPs with different molecular weights are available. Variations in the expression levels of HSPs among individuals belong to the same bee taxa or different taxa exposed to heat stress have been noted. It is hypothesized that the properties of HSPs could help in understanding such variations. In this study, bioinformatics and other protein analysis tools were utilized to shade lights on the variations between sequences of heat shock proteins 60 (HSP60) and 83 (HSP83) in 18 bee taxa (15 from Family Apidae, 2 from Family Halictidae, and one from Megachilidae). The analysis of amino acids and nucleotides showed some identical values to bees from genus Apis and Bombus. The conserved domains were highly identical in case of HSP60 than HSP83. The motifs were from one or more protein families with variation among taxa. All proteins showed hydrophilic properties with variable isoelectric points. The study suggested an identical 3-D structure for proteins in all bee taxa. The role of the detected variations in affecting the response of HSPs to stress was discussed. This study paves the way for more investigations on HSPs and encourages the use of bioinformatics and protein analysis tools to explain any observable variations.