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   PID: hpt/lnx 1.9.0-cur 2019-01-08   
   TID: hpt/lnx 1.9.0-cur 2019-01-08   
    Immune-boosting therapy helps honey bees resist deadly viruses    
      
     Date:   
         July 1, 2023   
     Source:   
         University of Florida   
     Summary:   
         Scientists have successfully tested a novel way of boosting honey   
         bees' immune systems to help them fend off deadly viruses, which   
         have contributed to the major losses of the critical pollinator   
         globally.   
      
      
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   FULL STORY   
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   Scientists have successfully tested a novel way of boosting honey   
   bees' immune systems to help them fend off deadly viruses, which have   
   contributed to the major losses of the critical pollinator globally.   
      
   In a new study, the research team, which includes entomologists with   
   the University of Florida, the Agricultural Research Service-USDA,   
   Louisiana State University and the University of Nebraska-Lincoln,   
   showed that prompting honey bees' cells to produce free radicals helped   
   the bees weather a host of viruses.   
      
   In fact, the treatment greatly reduced, and in some cases, nearly   
   eliminated virus activity in full scale field studies.   
      
   "This approach is especially exciting because it doesn't just target a   
   specific type of virus but helps with many different viruses," said Daniel   
   Swale, senior author of the study. Swale is the associate director for   
   training and special projects in the UF Emerging Pathogens Institute and   
   associate professor in the UF/IFAS entomology and nematology department.   
      
   "Additionally, we demonstrated that our treatment works both in the lab   
   and in colonies that each contain 80,000 bees in the field. This is huge   
   because, in a hive setting, bees are exposed to so many different viruses   
   and stressors, so successfully controlling viruses in that environment   
   is very encouraging," said Swale, who completed some of this research   
   while at Louisiana State University.   
      
   Honey bee colonies, and the beekeepers who manage them, play an important   
   role in food production by pollinating many crops. In recent years,   
   honey bee populations have seen significant declines, and viruses, while   
   not the top cause of honey bee deaths, are among the main contributors.   
      
   "Varroa mites are the number one cause of honey bee losses, but it's   
   important to point out that varroa mites, aside from physically weakening   
   bees, also transmit viruses to bees. If we can mitigate viruses in   
   honey bee colonies, that would be a big step forward," said Michael   
   Simone-Finstrom, a co-author of the study and a research molecular   
   biologist with the ARS Honey Bee Breeding, Genetics, and Physiology   
   Research Lab in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.   
      
   In the experiment, the researchers used a compound called pinacidil   
   to alter potassium ion channels, a protein found in the cells of bees'   
   and most living things. Altering these channels produced slightly more   
   free radicals.   
      
   "While free radicals are often bad for cell health, in moderate amounts   
   they can be therapeutic, as we see in this study. In this case, the   
   additional free radicals signal to the immune system to ramp up, which   
   helps the bees fight off viruses," said Troy Anderson, a co-author of the   
   paper and a professor of entomology at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln.   
      
   The scientists administered the drug to honey bee colonies by mixing it   
   into sugar water and drizzling the water over the honey comb at night. The   
   bees then consumed the sugar water and fed it to their young. During the   
   day, bees are constantly moving in an out of the hive, so giving them   
   the treatment at night maximizes the number of bees that will receive it.   
      
   The treatment protected bees from six potentially deadly honey bee   
   viruses: Israeli acute paralysis virus, deformed wing viruses A and B,   
   black queen cell virus and Lake Sinai viruses 1 and 2. The researchers   
   also showed that pinacidil helped more bees survive in colonies heavily   
   infested with varroa mites.   
      
   Administering pinacidil to commercial honey bee hives may only be feasible   
   for some beekeepers, the researchers said, but the study opens the door to   
   identifying other active ingredients that may work better and cost less.   
      
   "One of the big take-aways from this study is that potassium ion channels   
   can be a target for improving immune system function in honey bees and   
   possibly other insects. We would like to find a molecule, such as a   
   peptide, or a new technology that has the same effect as pinacidil but   
   is more accessible to beekeepers," Swale said.   
      
       * RELATED_TOPICS   
             o Plants_&_Animals   
                   # Virology # Microbes_and_More # Agriculture_and_Food #   
                   Insects_(including_Butterflies)   
             o Earth_&_Climate   
                   # Exotic_Species # Water # Weather # Environmental_Issues   
       * RELATED_TERMS   
             o Honeybee o Beekeeping o Pollination_management o Honey o   
             Earth_science o Bee o Africanized_bee o Immune_system   
      
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   Story Source: Materials provided by University_of_Florida. Original   
   written by Samantha Murray. Note: Content may be edited for style   
   and length.   
      
      
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   Journal Reference:   
      1. Christopher J. Fellows, Michael Simone-Finstrom, Troy D. Anderson,   
      Daniel   
         R. Swale. Potassium ion channels as a molecular target to reduce   
         virus infection and mortality of honey bee colonies. Virology   
         Journal, 2023; 20 (1) DOI: 10.1186/s12985-023-02104-0   
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   Link to news story:   
   https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2023/07/230701135742.htm   
      
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