Vitellogenin

Vitellogenin (Vg) (from latin vitellus = yolk and gener = to produce) is a synonymous term for the gene and the expressed protein. The molecule is classified as a glyco-lipo-protein, having properties of a sugar, fat and protein. Vitellogenin is an egg yolk precursor protein expressed in female fish, dormant in male fish and female insects. In the presence of estrogenic endocrine disruptive chemicals (EDCs), males can express the Vg gene in a dose dependent manner. The use of Vg gene expression in male fish can be used as a molecular marker of exposure to estrogenic EDCs.

Vitellogenin and honey bees
Honey bees deposit vitellogenin in fat bodies in their abdomen and heads. The fat bodies apparently acts as a food storage reservoir. The glycolipoprotein vitellogenin has additional functionality as it acts as an antioxidant to prolong Queen bee and forager lifespan as well as a hormone that affects future foraging behavior. The health of a honey bee colony is dependent upon the vitellogenin reserves of the nurse bees - the foragers have low levels of vitellogenin. As expendable laborers the foragers are fed just enough protein to keep them working their risky task of collecting nectar and pollen. Vitellogenin is important during the nest stage and thus for worker division of labor. A nurse bees vitellogenin titer that developed in the first four days after emergence, affects its subsequent age to begin foraging and whether it preferentially forages for nectar or pollen. If young workers are short on food their first days of life, they tend to begin foraging early and preferentially for nectar. If they are moderately fed, they forage at normal age preferentially for nectar. If they are abundantly fed, immediately after emergence, their vitellogenin titer is high and they begin foraging later in life, preferentially collecting pollen, which is the only available protein source for honey bees.

Vitellogenin and juvenile hormone feedback loop
Vitellogenin is part of a regulatory feedback loop that enables vitellogenin and juvenile hormone to mutually suppress each other. Vitellogenin and juvenile hormone work antagonistically in the honey bee to regulate their development and behavior. Suppression of one leads to high titers of the other. It is likely that the balance between vitellogenin and juvenile hormone levels is also involved in swarming behavior. Juvenile hormone levels drop pre-swarming and it is expected that vitellogenin levels would therefore rise. Swarming bees would want to pack along as much vitellogenin as possible to extend their lifespan and to be able to quickly build a new nest.