Identificação de proteínas ligantes de calmodulina no cérebro de abelhas operárias campeira e nutridora Apis mellifera L

Abstract

The calmodulin is a Ca+2-binding protein, important in a wide variety of cellular functions. The complex Ca+2/calmodulin interacts and regulates several enzymes and target-proteins, known as calmodulina-binding proteins (CaMBPs). This study identified comparatively the composition of CaMBPs in the brain of the workers honeybees Apis mellifera, aiming to relate the their behavior in the colony. For that, the CaMBPS from the foragers workers and nurses brain were purified by affinity chromatography, separated in gel 1D, digested and analysed to peptide mass fingerprinting (PMF) for identification. In PMF, 21 proteins were identified, being 2 just in foragers workers and 13 in nurses, considered specific-behavior protein. All proteins were classified according to their function and cellular location, it was observed a bigger intensity of CaMBPs related to metabolism, for both workers. Besides, the sequences were analyzed as for that the presence of IQ motif. The results here presented indicate that behavior change in the colony changes the CaMBPs composition and, possibly, in the protein function in the Apis melilifera workers brain.