Abstract: Royal jelly is one of the favorite bee products by consumers, and the major royal jelly proteins (MRJPs) play an important part in regulating caste differentiation and improving human health. The hypopharyngeal glands of worker bees are the “production workshop” of royal jelly proteins, and their synthesis and secretion activities directly influence the quality of royal jelly. In recent years, different studies have revealed the molecular basis for the regulation on MRJPs synthesis and secretion by honey bee breeds, developmental stages and environmental conditions at the morphological structure, transcriptomic level and proteomic level of hypopharyngeal gland, providing a theoretical basis for promoting the royal jelly quality. In this review, we summarized the composition and function of MRJPs, and gave an overview around the hypopharyngeal glands of honey bees, and the factors affecting the synthesis and secretion of MRJPs. We also recommended future research directions on the synthesis and secretion of MRJPs in the hypopharyngeal glands of honey bees: (1) better understanding the intrinsic mechanism of MRJPs synthesis in the hypopharyngeal glands; (2) mapping the action pathway of MRJPs synthesis in the hypopharyngeal glands; and (3) analysis of the key cell types and function for MRJPs synthesis in hypopharyngeal glands at the cellular level. This review will provide a new perspective for studying the synthesis mechanism of MRJPs.

Key words: Honey bees, royal jelly, hypopharyngeal gland, major royal jelly proteins, nurse bee