Enzymatic Basis of Mannose Toxicity in Honey Bees

Abstract

Honey bees have a negligible amount of phosphomannoseisomerase, together with a high content of a hexokinase which phosphorylates mannose more efficiently than fructose or glucose. Competition at the phosphorylation level plus accumulation of mannose-6-phosphate can fully account for the toxicity of mannose in honey bees.