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Journals / Uludağ Arıcılık Dergisi / 2026 / Volume: 26

The Effects of Global Climate Change on Gene Expression in Honey Bees (Apis mellifera)

Küresel İklim Değişikliğinin Bal Arısı (Apis mellifera) Gen Ekspresyonuna Etkileri

Kemal Karabağ(AKDENİZ ÜNİVERSİTESİ)0000-0002-4516-6480
Berkant İsmail Yıldız(AKDENİZ ÜNİVERSİTESİ)0000-0001-8965-6361
Pages
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Publication Date
2026-01-22
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AI Summary & Key Takeaways

AI Insight
⚡ TL;DR(Too Long; Didn't Read)

Collectively, the findings provide an integrative framework for selective breeding of stress-tolerant colonies and for omics-based research addressing the complex interplay among multiple climatic stressors.

📌 3 Key Takeaways

🎯
Objective & Hypothesis:Global climate change is reshaping the abiotic environment of honey bees and triggering molecular responses that underlie colony health and resilience.
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Key Findings & Data:This review synthesizes research from the 2000s to the present, summarizing gene expression responses of Apis mellifera to climate-related stressors.
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Conclusion & Impact:Collectively, the findings provide an integrative framework for selective breeding of stress-tolerant colonies and for omics-based research addressing the complex interplay among multiple climatic stressors.
🔬Design:Review & Systematic Survey
📍Scope:Comprehensive Sample
⚙️Variables:Honeybee · Gene expression · Climate change

Abstract

Global climate change is reshaping the abiotic environment of honey bees and triggering molecular responses that underlie colony health and resilience. This review synthesizes research from the 2000s to the present, summarizing gene expression responses of Apis mellifera to climate-related stressors. The principal drivers include temperature extremes, altered seasonal regimes, elevated atmospheric CO₂, drought, and their interactions. Heat stress induces the expression of heat shock proteins (HSP70/90), antioxidant defenses, and detoxification genes, while suppressing the expression of glandular proteins (MRJPs). Cold stress downregulates genes involved in the peroxisomal and glutathione pathways, thereby increasing oxidative damage. Rising CO₂ levels reduce pollen protein content and indirectly alter the expression of vitellogenin and immune genes. Drought, nutritional scarcity, and pathogen pressure reprogram immune effectors such as defensin-1. Subspecies adapted to hot climates (A. m. jemenetica) exhibit strong HSP responses, although increasing extremes may exceed their adaptive thresholds. Recent studies suggest that epigenetic mechanisms, including DNA methylation and histone modification, play a role in the persistence of these responses. Collectively, the findings provide an integrative framework for selective breeding of stress-tolerant colonies and for omics-based research addressing the complex interplay among multiple climatic stressors.

Özet

Küresel iklim değişikliği, bal arılarının abiyotik çevresini yeniden şekillendirmekte ve koloni sağlığını belirleyen moleküler yanıtları tetiklemektedir. Bu derleme, 2000’li yıllardan günümüze Apis mellifera’nın iklimle ilişkili stres faktörlerine verdiği gen ekspresyonu tepkilerini özetlemektedir. Başlıca stresörler arasında sıcaklık aşırılıkları, değişen mevsimsel düzenler, artan atmosferik CO₂, kuraklık ve bunların etkileşimleri yer almaktadır. Isı stresi, ısı şok proteinleri (HSP70/90), antioksidan savunmalar ve detoksifikasyon genlerini indüklerken; salgı bezi proteinlerinin (MRJP’ler) ekspresyonunu baskılar. Soğuk stresi, peroksizom ve glutatyon yolak genlerini aşağı regüle ederek oksidatif hasarı artırır. CO₂ artışı, polen protein içeriğini azaltır ve dolaylı olarak vitellogenin ve bağışıklık genlerinde değişime yol açar. Kuraklık, besin kıtlığı ve patojen baskısı bağışıklık efektörlerini (defensin-1) yeniden düzenler. Sıcak iklimlere adapte alt türler (A. m. jemenetica) güçlü HSP yanıtları sergilese de aşırı koşullar adaptif sınırları zorlamaktadır. Son yıllarda epigenetik mekanizmaların (DNA metilasyonu, histon modifikasyonu) bu yanıtların sürekliliğinde rol oynadığı belirlenmiştir. Bulgular, stres toleranslı kolonilerin ıslahı ve çoklu stres etkileşimlerine odaklanan omik tabanlı çalışmalar için önemli bir çerçeve sunmaktadır.

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Cite This Article

Karabağ, K., Yıldız, B. İ. (2026). The Effects of Global Climate Change on Gene Expression in Honey Bees (Apis mellifera). Uludağ Arıcılık Dergisi, Volume: 26. https://doi.org/10.31467/uluaricilik.1786679

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