Genetic and behavioural basis of disease resistance in honey bees(Apis mellifera)

该项目的目的是研究赋予蜜蜂（Apis mellifera）抗病能力的遗传和行为机制的基本方面。蜜蜂是这类研究的一个很好的模式生物，因为它们的群体中有大量的个体，它们众所周知的劳动分工，操纵它们的环境的技术的存在，也因为它们的基因组已经测序。将检查蜜蜂对寄生虫的行为和免疫反应。在行为层面，我们将检验病原体抑制赋予抗性的行为表达的假设。在分子水平上，我们将测试病原体可能激活或抑制蜜蜂的特定先天防御的假设，这取决于病原体的性质以及宿主基因型。我们还将测试潜在的免疫诱导物质（激活剂）对个体防御反应的影响。科学方法将是测量与欧洲和非洲起源的蜜蜂（非洲化的蜜蜂可能比欧洲蜜蜂对寄生虫和疾病更具抵抗力）暴露于寄生虫（如螨Varroa destructor和真菌Nosema cerebral）的压力和免疫力相关的候选基因的表达。将使用行为试验评估上述基因型个体蜜蜂（已用寄生虫攻毒）的梳理和卫生行为。预计这项研究将为动物对病原体的抵抗力和自然防御提供新的见解。在实践方面，该项目的结果可以更好地了解过去三年中北美超过三分之一的蜜蜂群体的崩溃和死亡，称为群体崩溃障碍。这种前所未有的蜂群损失危及蜜蜂作为开花植物授粉者的持续供应，这具有很强的经济影响。

The aim of this project will be to study fundamental aspects of the genetic and behavioural mechanisms that confer resistance to disease in honey bees (Apis mellifera). The honey bee is a good model organism for this type of study because of the large number of individuals in their colonies, their well-known division of labour, the existence of technology to manipulate their environment, and also because their genome has been sequenced. Behavioural and immune responses of honey bees to parasites will be examined. At the behavioural level, we will test the hypothesis that pathogens inhibit the expression of behaviours that confer resistance. At the molecular level, we will test the hypothesis that pathogens may activate or suppress specific innate defenses in the bees, depending on the nature of the pathogen as well as on the host genotype. We will also test the effect of potential immune inducing substances (activators) on the defense responses of individuals. The scientific approach will be to measure the expression of candidate genes associated to stress and immunity in honey bees of European and African origin (Africanized bees are presumably more resistant than European bees to parasites and diseases) exposed to parasites such as the mite Varroa destructor and the fungus Nosema ceranae. Behavioural assays will be used to assess grooming and hygienic behaviour in individual bees of the above genotypes that had been challenged with parasites. It is expected that this research will provide new insights into resistance and natural defenses of animals to pathogens. On the practical side, results of this project could shed light to better understand the collapse and death of more than one third of honey bee colonies in North America during each of the past three years, termed Colony Collapse Disorder. This unprecedented loss of colonies has endangered the continuous supply of honey bees as pollinators of flowering plants, which has strong economic implications.