The amount of melittin (measured by a direct haemolytic assay) contained in the venom system of single honey bees (Apis mellifera), of known age, increases from the time of eclosion to an age of about 4 weeks when about 500 μg of melittin is present. In older bees (5-6 weeks) the melittin level falls to about 250 μg. Measurements of the incorporation of [3H]leucine (injected into the haemolymph) into melittin show that melittin synthesis is most active in bees aged between 1 and 2 weeks after eclosion. The melittin content of the venom system changes as the summer progresses. Melittin levels in a bee of any age greater than 1 week are lower in mid-August than in a bee of the same age in early June. © 1995.
CITATION STYLE
Owen, M. D., & Pfaff, L. A. (1995). Melittin synthesis in the venom system of the honey bee (Apis mellifera L.). Toxicon, 33(9), 1181–1188. https://doi.org/10.1016/0041-0101(95)00054-P
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