Page 2 Page 3 Department of Physiology (WE15) Laboratory of Zoophysiology Honeybee (Apis ...

210 Pages·2013·4.73 MB·English

by  Matthias Van Vaerenbergh

Department of Physiology (WE15)
Laboratory of Zoophysiology

Honeybee (Apis mellifera) and bumblebee (Bombus terrestris)
venom: analysis and immunological importance of the proteome

Het gif van de honingbij (Apis mellifera) en de aardhommel
(Bombus terrestris): analyse en immunologisch belang van het
proteoom

Matthias Van Vaerenbergh
Ghent University, 2013

Thesis submitted to obtain the academic degree of Doctor in Science: Biochemistry and
Biotechnology
Proefschrift voorgelegd tot het behalen van de graad van Doctor in de Wetenschappen,
Biochemie en Biotechnologie
Supervisors:
Promotor: Prof. Dr. Dirk C. de Graaf
Laboratory of Zoophysiology
Department of Physiology
Faculty of Sciences
Ghent University

Co-promotor: Prof. Dr. Bart Devreese
Laboratory for Protein Biochemistry and Biomolecular Engineering
Department of Biochemistry and Microbiology
Faculty of Sciences
Ghent University

Reading Committee:
Prof. Dr. Geert Baggerman (University of Antwerp)
Dr. Simon Blank (University of Hamburg)
Prof. Dr. Bart Braeckman (Ghent University)
Prof. Dr. Didier Ebo (University of Antwerp)

Examination Committee:
Prof. Dr. Johan Grooten (Ghent University, chairman)
Prof. Dr. Dirk C. de Graaf (Ghent University, promotor)
Prof. Dr. Bart Devreese (Ghent University, co-promotor)
Prof. Dr. Geert Baggerman (University of Antwerp)
Dr. Simon Blank (University of Hamburg)
Prof. Dr. Bart Braeckman (Ghent University)
Prof. Dr. Didier Ebo (University of Antwerp)
Dr. Maarten Aerts (Ghent University)
Prof. Dr. Guy Smagghe (Ghent University)

Dean: Prof. Dr. Herwig Dejonghe
Rector: Prof. Dr. Anne De Paepe
The author and the promotor give the permission to use this thesis for consultation and to
copy parts of it for personal use. Every other use is subject to the copyright laws, more
specifically the source must be extensively specified when using results from this thesis.

Please refer to this work as:
Van Vaerenbergh, M. (2013) Honeybee (Apis mellifera) and bumblebee (Bombus terrestris)
venom: analysis and immunological importance of the proteome. PhD thesis, Ghent
University.

Funding:
This study was financially supported by a PhD grant for Strategic Basic Research from the
agency for Innovation by Science and Technology (IWT).

Author’s email address:
[email protected]

Front cover
Photographs
© http://www.abeezhoney.net/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/HoneyStock1.jpg
© http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Bumblebee_2007-04-19.jpg
Design: Quinten De Corte

Curriculum vitae
Curriculum
vitae

PERSONAL DETAILS
Name Matthias Van Vaerenbergh
Date of birth 19/04/1986
Nationality Belgian
Telephone [phone]
E-mail [email protected]

EDUCATION
2009-2013 Ph.D. candidate, Biochemistry and Biotechnology, Ghent University
(Grant: IWT-Flanders)
PhD thesis: Honeybee (Apis mellifera) and bumblebee (Bombus
terrestris) venom: analysis and immunological importance of the
proteome.
2007-2009 Master in Science (MSc), Biology, Ghent University (magna cum laude)
Master thesis: Venom of honeybees (Apis mellifera): immunological
importance of new venom components.
2004-2007 Bachelor in Science (BSc), Biology, Ghent University (cum laude)
Bachelor thesis: Study of zebrafish (Danio rerio) mutants with an
aberrant tooth phenotype.
1998-2004 Secondary school: Science-mathematics, KTA “De Rijdtmeersen”,
Brakel

SCHOLARSHIPS AND AWARDS
Ph.D. scholarship of the Institute for the Promotion of Innovation by Science and Technology in
Flanders (IWT-Flanders), Belgium, 01/01/2010 - 31/12/2013

INTERNSHIPS
28/01/2012 - 10/03/2012: Institute of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Hamburg University,
Germany
Curriculum vitae
SCIENTIFIC OUTPUT
A1 peer reviewed publications
1. Cardoen D., Ernst U. R., Van Vaerenbergh M., Boerjan B., de Graaf D. C., Wenseleers T., Schoofs,
L. and Verleyen, P. (2011) Differential proteomics in dequeened honeybee colonies reveals
lower viral load in hemolymph of fertile worker bees. PLoS ONE 6(6): e20043.
2. Van Vaerenbergh M., Cardoen D., Formesyn E. M., Brunain M., Van Driessche G., Blank S.,
Spillner E., Verleyen P., Wenseleers T., Schoofs L., Devreese B., de Graaf D. C. (2013) Extending
the honey bee venome with the antimicrobial peptide apidaecin and a protein resembling wasp
antigen 5. Insect Molecular Biology 22(2): 199–210.
3. Van Vaerenbergh M., Debyser G., Devreese B., de Graaf D. C. Exploring the hidden honeybee
(Apis mellifera) venom proteome by integrating a combinatorial peptide ligand library approach
with FTMS. Journal of Proteomics: in press.
4. Van Vaerenbergh M., Debyser G., Smagghe G., Devreese B., de Graaf D. C. Unraveling the venom
proteome of the bumblebee (Bombus terrestris) by integrating a combinatorial peptide ligand
library approach with FT-ICR MS. Toxicon: in press.

Participation at international conferences
1. BEEDOC Workshop: Diagnostics in honeybees: from sampling to data analyses, Ghent, Belgium,
August 2010.
Van Vaerenbergh M., Jacobs F. J., Devreese B., de Graaf D. C. Molecular cloning reveals the
existence of multiple alternative splice variants of hyaluronidase and icarapin in honeybee
venom glands. p. 22. (poster)
2. 4th International Symposium on Molecular Allergology, Munich, Germany, October 2010, p. 26.
Van Vaerenbergh M., Devreese B., de Graaf D. C. Exploring the honeybee (Apis mellifera) venom
transcriptome using a PCR-based cloning approach. (poster)
3. 17th Benelux Congress of Zoology: Classic Biology in Modern Times, Ghent, Belgium, October
2010, p. 156.
Van Vaerenbergh M., Devreese B., de Graaf D. C. Identification of novel isoforms of PVF-1 and
icarapin in honeybee venom glands using an RT-PCR-based approach. (poster)
4. Bee–together: conference on pollinators with emphasis to stimulate interactions within the
field, Ghent, Belgium, December 2010, p. 17.
Van Vaerenbergh M., Devreese B., de Graaf D. C. Mass spectrometry as a powerful tool for
Hymenoptera venom analysis. (oral presentation)
5. 17th Congress of the European Section of the International Society on Toxinology. Valencia,
Spain, September 2011, p. 235.
Van Vaerenbergh M. An in-depth analysis of the honeybee (Apis mellifera) and bumblebee
(Bombus terrestris) venom proteome. (poster)
6. EAACI-WAO World Allergy & Asthma Congress. Milan, Italy, 22-26 June 2013, p. 44.
Van Vaerenbergh M., De Smet L., Blank S., Spillner E., Ebo D., Jakob T., Devreese B., de Graaf
D.C. IgE recognition of multiple novel Api m 10 isoforms evaluated by protein array technology.
(oral presentation)
Curriculum vitae
GUIDANCE OF STUDENTS
Educational support (practicals, exercises, seminars)
First Bachelor of Medicine and Dentistry: Aspects of peripheral blood research: 2009-2010, 2010-
2011
Second Bachelor of Biochemistry and Biotechnology: Practical exercises of biomedical physiology:
2009-2010, 2010-2011, 2012-2013

Thesis support
Master thesis: The venom of honeybees (Apis mellifera): immunological importance of the venom
compounds icarapin and PVF1. (Kim De Crem, 2009-2010)
Master project: Recombinant expression of honeybee venom compounds in an insect cell expression
system. (Nele Van Der Steen, 2010-2011)
Bachelor thesis: Determination of the serum IgG4-titers against honeybee venom and Api m 10
variants. (Sarah Delbaere, Stef Deyaert, Lieven Lancksweerdt, 2012-2013)