MSGID: 1:317/3 64927d22   
   PID: hpt/lnx 1.9.0-cur 2019-01-08   
   TID: hpt/lnx 1.9.0-cur 2019-01-08   
    Completing genome of rusty patched bumble bee may offer new approach to   
   saving endangered bee    
      
     Date:   
         June 20, 2023   
     Source:   
         US Department of Agriculture - Agricultural Research Service   
     Summary:   
         A detailed, high-resolution map of the rusty patched bumble bee's   
         genome has been released, offering new approaches for bringing   
         the native pollinator back from the danger of extinction. Putting   
         together the rusty patched bumble bee genome is part of the Beenome   
         100 project, a first-of- its-kind effort to create a library of   
         high-quality, highly detailed genome maps of 100 or more diverse   
         bee species found in the United States.   
      
      
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   FULL STORY   
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   A detailed, high-resolution map of the rusty patched bumble bee's   
   genome has been released by U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA)   
   Agricultural Research Service (ARS) and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service   
   (USFWS) scientists, offering new possible approaches for bringing the   
   native pollinator back from the danger of extinction.   
      
   Putting together the rusty patched bumble bee genome is part of the   
   Beenome 100 project, a first-of-its-kind effort to create a library   
   of high-quality, highly detailed genome maps of 100 or more diverse   
   bee species found in the United States. Beenome 100 is a collaborative   
   undertaking of ARS and the University of Illinois. The expectation is that   
   this library will help researchers answer the big questions about bees   
   such as what genetic differences make a bee species more vulnerable to   
   climate change or whether a bee species is likely to be more susceptible   
   to a pesticide.   
      
   The rusty patched bumble bee (Bombus affinis)is an important pollinator of   
   bergamot (Monarda fistulosa), milkweed, and other wildflowers, as well as   
   crops such as cranberries, plums, apples and alfalfa. But in the last 20   
   years or so, its population is estimated to have declined by 87 percent.   
      
   In 2017, the species was listed as "endangered." Where rusty patched   
   bumble bees were once common across the Upper Midwest and Northeast in 28   
   states and 2 Canadian provinces, now their range is down to disconnected   
   spots in 13 states and one Canadian province. Among the few places they   
   are still regularly found is around the Minneapolis-St. Paul area of   
   Minnesota and in Wisconsin.   
      
   "With the amount of detailed information that we and other researchers   
   now have access to in this newly sequenced genome, we have an opportunity   
   to find a whole different approach to strengthening rusty patched bumble   
   bee populations," said research entomologist Jonathan B. Uhaud Koch with   
   the ARS Pollinating Insect-Biology, Management, Systematics Research   
   Unit in Logan, Utah.   
      
   Koch explained that some of the factors contributing to the decline of   
   rusty patched bumble bees are already known: loss of habitat, reduced   
   variety of nectar sources, climate change, exposure to pesticides,   
   and more pathogens and pests.   
      
   While scientists have known the widespread presence of the fungal pathogen   
   Varimorpha bombi(formerly called Nosema bombi) has a detrimental impact   
   on many rusty patched bumble bee populations, Koch was a bit surprised   
   by how much Varimorpha genetic material he found in the bumble bee sample   
   that was used to develop the genome map.   
      
   "We used a small piece of abdominal tissue from a single male collected   
   from a nest in Minnesota, which, given the endangered status of the rusty   
   patched bumble bee, seemed like a very good idea," Koch said. "It's   
   only with the most cutting-edge equipment that you could resolve an   
   entire genome of 15,252 genes and 18 chromosomes from a tiny bit of one   
   bumble bee.   
      
   It turns out about 4.5 percent of the DNA the researchers sequenced   
   came from Microsporidia, the fungal group that includes Varimorpha   
   bombi."That's a massive amount of genetic information from the bee   
   tissue sample to be associated with Varimorpha bombi. It demonstrates   
   how pervasive the pathogen is," Koch said.   
      
   "Having this high-quality genome will support the identification   
   of genetic differences between rusty patched bumble bee populations   
   that appear to be doing well versus where they are in decline," Koch   
   said. "This may give us a handle on identifying the genes that give the   
   more capable population its flexibility to deal with its environment. We   
   may also gain a better understanding of the genetic basis of bumble bee   
   behavior, physiology and adaptation to changing environmental conditions."   
   Once the more successful genes for a particular type of local condition   
   are identified, researchers will be able to give a population a boost in   
   the right direction when it comes to restoring the rusty patched bumble   
   bee to an area through captive breeding programs.   
      
       * RELATED_TOPICS   
             o Plants_&_Animals   
                   # Agriculture_and_Food # Food_and_Agriculture #   
                   Evolutionary_Biology # Endangered_Animals # Biology #   
                   Insects_(including_Butterflies) # Genetics # Nature   
       * RELATED_TERMS   
             o Bee_sting o Gene o DNA_repair o Pollination_management o   
             Mitosis o Crotalus_atrox o Gene_therapy o DNA_microarray   
      
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   Story Source: Materials provided by   
   US_Department_of_Agriculture_-_Agricultural_Research Service. Note:   
   Content may be edited for style and length.   
      
      
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   Journal Reference:   
      1. Jonathan Berenguer Uhuad Koch, Sheina B Sim, Brian Scheffler,   
      Scott M   
         Geib, Tamara A Smith. Chromosome-scale genome assembly of the   
         rusty patched bumble bee, Bombus affinis (Cresson) (Hymenoptera:   
         Apidae), an endangered North American pollinator. G3: Genes,   
         Genomes, Genetics, 2023; DOI: 10.1093/g3journal/jkad119   
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   Link to news story:   
   https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2023/06/230620113757.htm   
      
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