Allatotropic Actions of Insulin in the Honey Bee

每年，蜜蜂通过为粮食作物授粉，为美国经济贡献数十亿美元的价值。在过去的十年里，北美蜜蜂的数量下降了，主要是因为蜂群在冬季死亡。这些损失的原因是神秘的，但一种可能性是，秋季数量减少使冬季生存更具挑战性。由于对蜜蜂的基本生理知之甚少，因此很难评估对蜜蜂健康的威胁。这个项目填补了我们对蜜蜂繁殖知识的空白，通过使用分子方法来识别调节蜂王卵巢的大脑激素，蜂王是蜂群中唯一能产卵的雌性。研究结果将定义大脑对蜜蜂繁殖的调节，进而可以用来理解杀虫剂和疾病等因素是如何破坏卵子生产并导致蜜蜂数量减少的。因为这些信号之一是胰岛素样肽，这些研究将促进对胰岛素在昆虫中的作用的理解。研究结果将发表在同行评议的期刊上，原始数据将以标准格式（Excel, Photoshop）在维克森林大学的安全服务器上存储至少10年。该奖项将支持两个教育项目。首先，本科生将研究蜜蜂肠道修复饮食引起的损伤的能力。学生将与当地养蜂人合作，调查北卡罗莱纳州皮埃蒙特地区蜜蜂种群的肠道健康状况。第二个是开发昆虫激素实验室练习，供维克森林大学200多名生物学本科生每学期使用。课程材料将通过国家生物实验室教育者协会（ABLE）提供给所有感兴趣的大学生物学讲师。以昆虫为基础的练习为学生介绍激素作用的概念提供了一种安全、经济的工具。

Each year honey bees contribute billions of dollars of value to the United States economy by pollinating food crops. During the past decade, North American honey bee populations have declined, primarily because of the death of colonies during winter. The cause of these losses is mysterious, but one possibility is that reduced fall populations make winter survival more challenging. It is difficult to assess threats to bee health because little is known about basic bee physiology. This project fills gaps in our knowledge of bee reproduction by using molecular methods to identify brain hormones that regulate the ovaries in queens, the only females in bee colonies who can lay fertilized eggs. The results will define the brain regulation of bee reproduction, which can in turn be used to understand how factors such as pesticides and disease disrupt egg production and lead to reduced bee populations. Because one of these signals is an insulin-like peptide, these studies will promote understanding of the role of insulin in insects. Results will be published in peer-reviewed journals, with primary data stored for a minimum of 10 years on secure Wake Forest University servers in standard formats (Excel, Photoshop). Two educational projects will be supported by this award. First, undergraduates will investigate the ability of the honey bee gut to repair diet-induced damage. Students will partner with local citizen-beekeepers to survey gut health in bee populations in the Piedmont region of North Carolina. The second is development of an insect hormone laboratory exercise to be used by 200+ undergraduate biology students at Wake Forest University every semester. The curricular materials will be made available to all interested college-level instructors of biology through the national Association of Biology Laboratory Educators (ABLE). Insect-based exercises provide a safe, cost-effective tool for introducing students to concepts of hormone action.