Synthesis of wax in the honeybee (Apis mellifera L.)

Abstract

Newly emerged honeybee workers were fed during 1 or 2 weeks with sucrose containing either heavy water, sodium acetate with deuterium, sodium acetate-1-14C, or uniformly labelled glucose-14C. The various lipid fractions were isolated in order to investigate the origin of the secreted wax components. In feeding acetate with deuterium or 14C the isolated hydrocarbons and free wax acids were strongly labelled, but not the esters or their component acids and alcohols. Feeding uniformly labelled glucose or heavy water caused no extreme differences in the labelling of different lipid fractions. Radioactivity of the oenocytes was 30 per cent higher than that of the fat cells (micro-autoradiographic assays) after feeding acetate-1-14C, but no distinct difference was found after feeding uniformly labelled glucose-14C. In order to interpret these facts we supposed that the oenocytes take up directly the acetate fed to the animals, whereas the fat cells do not. The hypothesis is put forward that oenocytes synthesize wax acids and hydrocarbons from acetate originating from the glycolysis in the fat cells, and that fat cells synthesize the esters as well as their component acids and alcohols from acetate originating from the glycolysis in these cells.