Expression of 15-PGDH Regulates Body Weight and Body Size by Targeting JH in Honeybees (Apis mellifera)

Qu, Xinying; Zhang, Xinru; Lu, Hanbing; Xin, Lingjun; Liu, Ran; Chen, Xiao

doi:10.3390/life15081230

This is an early access version, the complete PDF, HTML, and XML versions will be available soon.

Open AccessArticle

Expression of 15-PGDH Regulates Body Weight and Body Size by Targeting JH in Honeybees (Apis mellifera)

by

Xinying Qu

¹,

Xinru Zhang

²

,

Hanbing Lu

¹,

Lingjun Xin

²,

Ran Liu

³ and

Xiao Chen

^1,*

¹

State Key Laboratory of Resource Insects, Institute of Apicultural Research, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing 100193, China

²

College of Bioscience and Resource Environment, Beijing University of Agriculture, Beijing 102206, China

³

Beijing Tianbaokang Hi-Tech Development Co., Ltd., Beijing 100193, China

^*

Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.

Life 2025, 15(8), 1230; https://doi.org/10.3390/life15081230 (registering DOI)

Submission received: 21 June 2025 / Revised: 31 July 2025 / Accepted: 31 July 2025 / Published: 3 August 2025

(This article belongs to the Section Animal Science)

Download Versions Notes

Abstract

Honeybees (Apis mellifera) are pollinators for most crops in nature and a core species for the production of bee products. Body size and body weight are crucial breeding traits, as colonies possessing individuals with large body weight tend to be healthier and exhibit high productivity. In this study, small interfering RNA (siRNA) targeting 15-Hydroxyprostaglandin dehydrogenase (15-PGDH) was incorporated into the feed for feeding worker bee larvae, thereby achieving the silencing of this gene’s expression. The research further analyzed the impact of the RNA expression level of the 15-PGDH gene on the juvenile hormone (JH) titer and its subsequent effects on the body weight and size of worker bees. The results show that inhibiting the expression of 15-PGDH in larvae could significantly increase JH titer, which in turn led to an increase in the body weight of worker bees (1.13-fold higher than that of the control group reared under normal conditions (CK group); p < 0.01; SE: 7.85) and a significant extension in femur (1.08-fold longer than that of the CK group; p < 0.01; SE: 0.18). This study confirms that 15-PGDH can serve as a molecular marker related to body weight and size in honey bees, providing an important basis for molecular marker-assisted selection in honey bee breeding.

Keywords: 15-PGDH; JH; emergence weight; morphometric features; RNAi

Share and Cite

MDPI and ACS Style

Qu, X.; Zhang, X.; Lu, H.; Xin, L.; Liu, R.; Chen, X. Expression of 15-PGDH Regulates Body Weight and Body Size by Targeting JH in Honeybees (Apis mellifera). Life 2025, 15, 1230. https://doi.org/10.3390/life15081230

AMA Style

Qu X, Zhang X, Lu H, Xin L, Liu R, Chen X. Expression of 15-PGDH Regulates Body Weight and Body Size by Targeting JH in Honeybees (Apis mellifera). Life. 2025; 15(8):1230. https://doi.org/10.3390/life15081230

Chicago/Turabian Style

Qu, Xinying, Xinru Zhang, Hanbing Lu, Lingjun Xin, Ran Liu, and Xiao Chen. 2025. "Expression of 15-PGDH Regulates Body Weight and Body Size by Targeting JH in Honeybees (Apis mellifera)" Life 15, no. 8: 1230. https://doi.org/10.3390/life15081230

APA Style

Qu, X., Zhang, X., Lu, H., Xin, L., Liu, R., & Chen, X. (2025). Expression of 15-PGDH Regulates Body Weight and Body Size by Targeting JH in Honeybees (Apis mellifera). Life, 15(8), 1230. https://doi.org/10.3390/life15081230

Note that from the first issue of 2016, this journal uses article numbers instead of page numbers. See further details here.

Article Metrics

Article metric data becomes available approximately 24 hours after publication online.

Article Menu

Expression of 15-PGDH Regulates Body Weight and Body Size by Targeting JH in Honeybees (Apis mellifera)

Abstract

Share and Cite

Article Metrics

Further Information

Guidelines

MDPI Initiatives

Follow MDPI