Colony-Level Immunity Benefits and Behavioral Mechanisms of Resin Collection by Honey Bees

PI Spivak提案#IOS-0717530蜂群水平的免疫益处和蜂蜜收集树脂的行为机制该提案旨在确定树脂，一种具有不同抗菌特性的复杂植物分泌物，是否在蜜蜂群体中提供针对病原体的群体水平免疫防御。蜜蜂采集树脂(或蜂胶)，作为巢穴内的填充物。为了验证植物树脂在蜜蜂免疫中发挥不可或缺的作用的假设，我们将比较从富含树脂和缺乏树脂的蜂群中收集的蜜蜂中七种免疫相关基因的产物水平和关键病原体的存在。预计来自富含树脂蜂群的蜜蜂的免疫系统将相对下调，这表现为较低的免疫相关基因转录水平和较低的微生物水平，这表明树脂的存在和微生物的缺乏导致蜜蜂在生产免疫蛋白方面投资较少，而免疫蛋白的生产成本高昂。蜂群也将接受测试，以确定它们是否会在病原体挑战时收集更多的树脂，这将表明蜜蜂正在自我用药。此外，在个体和群体水平上启动和调节树脂收集的刺激将通过观察来自高树脂收集群体和低树脂收集群体的个体树脂采集者的招募信号(蜜蜂跳舞和颤抖)的频率来确定。这项研究将利用最近测序的蜜蜂基因组，这为免疫提供了新的候选基因，并提供了评估基因产物活性水平的技术。收获树脂，最终使社会个体的集体免疫系统受益，是环境对先天免疫影响的一个有趣的例子。一个实用的目标是促进蜜蜂的自然防御，蜜蜂是世界上最重要的本地和农业生态系统的授粉者，并促进养蜂业的经济健康。这些实验将积极吸引研究生和本科生参与从养蜂到分子遗传学等多个学科的研究。

Abstract PI Spivak Proposal # IOS-0717530Colony-level immunity Benefits and Behavioral Mechanisms of Resin Collection by Honey BeesThis proposal aims to determine if resins, complex plant secretions with diverse antimicrobial properties, provide a colony-level immune defense against pathogens in honey bee colonies. Bees harvest resin (or propolis) for use as caulk within the nest cavity. To test the hypothesis that plant resins play an integral role in honey bee immunity, product levels of seven immune-related genes and the presence of key pathogens will be compared in honey bees collected from resin-rich and resin-poor colonies. It is expected that the immune system in bees from resin-rich colonies will be relatively down-regulated, as indicated by lower immune-related gene transcript levels and lower microbe levels, suggesting that the presence of resin and lack of microbes causes the bees to invest less in the production of immune proteins that are energetically costly. Colonies also will be tested to determine if they collect more resin in response to pathogen challenge, which would indicate that the bees are self-medicating. Additionally, the stimuli that initiate and regulate resin collection at the individual and colony levels will be ascertained by observing the frequency of recruitment signals (bee dances and trembling) by individual resin foragers from high- and low-resin collecting colonies. This research will exploit the recently sequenced honey bee genome, which has provided new gene candidates for immunity and techniques for assessing the activity levels of gene products. Harvesting resin, which ultimately benefits the collective immune system of social individuals, is a fascinating example of environmental effects on innate immunity. An applied goal is to promote the natural defenses of honey bees, the world's most important pollinators of native and agro-ecosystems, and the economic health of the beekeeping industry. The experiments will actively engage graduate and undergraduate students in research that spans disciplines from beekeeping to molecular genetics.