Can Genetics Save the World's Honeybee Population?

A team of scientists at the Agricultural Research Service (ARS) have sequenced the genome of a parasite that kills honey bees. The parasite, nosema ceranae, is one of several pathogens suspected of contributing to the current bee population decline that have been given the collective name, colony collapse disorder or CCD.

CCD began devastating commercial beekeeping operations, with some beekeepers reporting losses of up to 90 percent, according to the USDA. Researchers believe CCD may be the result of a combination of pathogens, parasites and stress factors, but the cause remains a mystery. At stake is the $15 billion industry of crop farming in the United States that honey bees make possible.

The microsporidian Nosema is a fungus-related microbe that produces spores that bees consume when they forage. Infection spreads from their digestive tract to other tissues. Within weeks, colonies are either wiped out or lose much of their strength. Nosema apis was the leading cause of microsporidia infections among domestic bee colonies until recently when N. ceranae jumped from Asian honey bees to the European honey bees used commercially in the United States.

Sequencing the genome will help scientists trace the parasite's migration patterns, determine how it became dominant, and help resolve the spread of infection by enabling the development of diagnostic tests and treatments.

Posted by Casey Kazan.

http://esciencenews.com/articles/2009/06/04/bee.killing.parasite.genome.sequenced

PS:

As we reported in the post above, bees have had severe declines which may be affecting food production. No one has ever measured how much pollination is happening over a region, much less a continent so, we don't know anything about how these declines in bees influence gardens.

The Sunflower Project is going to use data collected by people like you to produce the first real map of the state of the bees. The only way to do this is to get as many people as possible collecting information from as many places as possible. You can help. Join the project. Plant a sunflower. Tell a friend.

All you have to do is plant a seed or two, spend 30 minutes watching your flowers twice a month and send or input your data. Plant, Watch, Type. That's it. 

The Great Sunflower Project

Comments

[Genessa]

No Genetics cannot save the World's Honeybee population. If bees were caught and preserved in a special place full of honey and flowers with sunlight then most likely the honeybee population would increase. They are dieing out because of harsh wheather conditions and they need to be preserved.