Genetic Fix to Manage Bee Colony Collapse Disorder

Colony Collapse Disorder caused the loss of an estimated 40 per cent of honey bee colonies in the US last year. Now researchers have genetically engineered a bacterium that lives in the gut of honey bees, to boost their ability to fight off pathogens that are often responsible for colony collapse. 

The researchers from the University of Texas first identified that honey bees carry a particular beneficial gut bacterium called Snodgrassella alvi, and then genetically engineered that bacterium to produce RNAi — RNA interference — in the gut of the bee. 

That RNAi is then able to suppress the expression of the deformed wing virus, and also kills the parasitic Varroa mite.

RNA interference [RNAi]  is a biological process in which RNA molecules inhibit gene expression or translation, by neutralizing targeted mRNA molecules. Historically, RNAi was known by other names, including co-suppression, post-transcriptional gene silencing (PTGS), and quelling. 


 appeared originally as Scientists modify honey bee gut bacterium to fight colony collapse-causing Varroa mite and deformed-wing virus in  ABC News (Science) - 31 January 2020
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