Proteome and Phosphoproteome of Africanized and European Honeybee Venoms

Proteomics, 2013 Jun 25

Honey bee venom toxins trigger immunological, physiological and neurological responses within victims. The high occurrence of bee attacks involving potentially fatal toxic and allergic reactions in humans and the prospect of developing novel pharmaceuticals make honey bee venom an attractive target for proteomic studies. Using label-free quantification, we compared the proteome and phosphoproteome of the venom of Africanized honeybees with that of two European subspecies, namely A. m. ligustica and A. m. carnica. From the total of 51 proteins, 42 were common to all three subspecies. Remarkably, the toxins melittin and icarapin were phosphorylated. In all venoms, icarapin was phosphorylated at the 205 Ser residue, which is located in close proximity to its known antigenic site. Melittin, the major toxin of honeybee venoms, was phosphorylated in all venoms at the 10 Thr and 18 Ser residues. 18 Ser phosphorylated melittin - the major of its two phosphorylated forms -was less toxic compared to the native peptide.