The absence of pollen in the diet of worker honeybees triggers premature aging. Apis mellifera

Plasticity in the development of adult honeybees is influenced by stimuli in the external environment, affecting metabolic, physiological and even behavioral features. Here we investigate how dietary changes early in the life of adult workers can affect genetic and physiological phenotypes, compromising health and survival. Newly emerged workers from different hives were sorted into two groups and offered either a pollen-based diet (PD; similar to the one consumed by young bees), or a pollen-free diet (PFD; mimicking the diet of an older bee). Bees fed on the PFD showed a significant reduction in lifespan compared to bees reared on the PD. Furthermore, fat body transcriptomes of each dietary group showed a substantial number of differentially expressed genes with roles in the metabolism of macromolecules and in immune response, suggestive of accelerated aging in the PFD bees. Bees fed the PFD also displayed elevated levels of oxidative stress in fat bodies and cuticular hydrocarbon profiles similar to that of older workers. Together, these features indicate the early onset of aging-related phenotypes in the chronologically young bees that consumed the diet of older bees.