That bees are downright awesome is not up for disputation . After all , they pollinate about a third of all the crops that we consumeand help to support ecosystems worldwide . Yet the bee are in problem , with a phenomenon known as colony flop upset ( CCD ) causing an alarming drop in numbers . Fortunately , a solution may be on the apparent horizon in the form of genetically modified bacterium .
One thing thatisa theme of great debate is the campaign of CCD . Some subject area show the finger’s breadth at a fussy class of pesticide calledneonicotinoids , although many within the scientific community agree that multiple factors are probably at play .
What we do get it on is that CCD first became an issue once the Varroa mite became far-flung , mostly thanks to aglobal swop in European honeybeesthat brought them into contact with Asiatic parasite . At first , it was assumed that the hint were simply killing bee by draw on their blood , although it subsequently transpired that they also carried the lethal deformed wing virus ( DWV ) , channel it into the blood stream of the bees they feasted on .
write their work in the journalScience , a squad of researchers genetically modified the bowel bacterium of Apis mellifera to protect them from both the Varroa tinge and DWV , with extremely positive result .
First , they inoculated hebdomad - old bee with a form of the bacterium that had been genetically modified to boost the insects ’ immune response to sure types of viruses via a process called RNA interference ( RNAi ) . This come about when sound cubicle recognise molecules promise RNA that are produced by encroach upon viruses , triggering a defense against these pathogens .
Bees that were treated with the modified bacterium were found to be 36.5 per centum more likely to survive for 10 days than those that had n’t been inoculate .
The study authors then produced a second strain of bacterium that was modified to touch off a lethal immune reply in Varroa mites . Results showed that touch feeding on the blood of bees that had been treated with this bacteria were 70 percent more likely to die within 10 mean solar day than mites feeding on bee that lacked the qualify bacteria .
“ This is the first time anyone has improved the health of bee by genetically orchestrate their microbiome , ” tell study author Sean Leonard in astatement .
And because these bacteria are comparatively easy to produce and ca n’t be spread to other organisms , the researchers think that their work could pave the manner for a good and effective result to dwindling bee colonies across the world .
