Ontogeny of immunity and natural viral infection in Apis mellifera drones and workers.

The most common viral diseases affecting honey bees (Apis mellifera) in Israel include deformed wing viruses (DWV-A and DWV-B) and acute paralysis viruses (ABPV and IAPV). These viruses are transmitted within and between colonies, both horizontally and vertically. All members of the colony contribute to this transmission, on the other hand individual and social immunity, particularly hygienic behaviour, may affect the outcome of the process.

Multiple benefits of breeding honey bees for hygienic behavior.

Honey bee colonies are prone to invasion by pests and pathogens. The combination of the parasitic mite Varroa destructor (Varroa) and the multiple viruses it vectors, is a major driver of colony losses. Breeding for hygienic behavior to reduce Varroa populations is considered a sustainable way to reduce the impact of Varroa on honey bee health.

p53 in the mitochondria, as a trans-acting protein, provides error-correction activities during the incorporation of non-canonical dUTP into DNA.

Mutations in mitochondrial DNA is an outcome of errors produced by DNA polymerase γ during replication and failure of the repair mechanism. Misincorporation of non-canonical dUTP leads to mutagenesis or apoptosis, and may contribute to the cytotoxic effects of 5'-fluorouracil chemotherapy. Tumor suppressor p53 protein in the mitochondria displays physical and functional interactions with mitochondrial DNA and polymerase γ, and by its intrinsic 3'→5' exonuclease activity can diminish the polymerization errors.

Ribonuclease activity of p53 in cytoplasm in response to various stress signals.

The tumor suppressor p53 protein is expressed at low levels under normal conditions. The subcellular localization and functional activation of p53 are influenced by diverse stress signals. p53 in cytoplasm exerts intrinsic 3'→5' exonuclease activity with various RNA and DNA substrates.

Excision of nucleoside analogs in mitochondria by p53 protein.

Objective: Nucleoside analogs, used against HIV, can be incorporated into a mitochondrial DNA by DNA polymerase gamma. Both the decrease in mitochondrial DNA and increased mutations of mitochondrial DNA may lead to mitochondrial diseases. The tumor suppressor protein p53 exhibits 3' --> 5' exonuclease activity and can provide a proofreading function for DNA polymerases.