STTR Phase I: A Novel Biorational Approach to Curing Honey Bees

这一小企业技术转让(STTR)第一阶段项目的更广泛影响是通过开发一种治疗瓦罗亚害虫的生物疗法来提高蜜蜂的健康，从而提高作物产量。瓦罗亚害虫是导致蜜蜂数量下降的最大单一原因。美国的所有蜜蜂群体(250万)都被寄生的瓦罗破坏螨所侵扰，由于寄生蜂本身的影响以及它携带的微生物疾病的传播，这些寄生蜂会造成毁灭性的蜂群损失。目前，商业和业余养蜂人都必须做出选择，是现在因瓦罗亚破坏者的侵扰而失去一个蜂群，还是以后因杀虫剂的影响而失去一个蜂群。将一种安全有效的新型生物产品推向市场，将减少养蜂人的年度支出，并通过使蜜蜂群体免受传统杀虫剂的破坏性下游影响，减少维持其蜂群生存的时间和精力。此外，该解决方案为通过本文提出的新的科学方法和技术进步开发和商业化更多的生物制品铺平了道路，从根本上降低了感知的风险。拟议的项目旨在将一种新颖的、生物的、科学的农药管理方法推向市场，以控制Varroa破坏螨的侵扰。这种生物杀虫剂的设计目标是一种以大昆虫(蜜蜂)为生的小虫子(螨虫)，而不会伤害蜜蜂。以前没有一种农药采用本文所述的生物合成方法，因此，在将该产品推向市场之前，需要进行各种实验来优化制造和给药方法，并提供概念验证。具体目标包括：1)通过对不同生长条件的经验测试，开发高效和成本效益高的大规模生产方法；2)测试各种给药方法，包括但不限于液体和粉末方法，这些方法可扩展，并对三种不同的养蜂人(商业、副业和业余养蜂人)最终用户友好；以及3)额外的行动模式实验，以巩固新技术进步的“概念证明”，包括对蜜蜂健康的影响的深入研究。这项技术将包括开发适合于包含数百个殖民地的仓库的管理方法。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力优势和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

The broader impact of this Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) Phase I project is to enhance honey bee health and hence crop production through the development of a biological treatment for Varroa destructor mite, the greatest single cause of honey bee decline. All honey bee colonies in the U.S. (2.5 million) are infested with parasitic Varroa destructor mites which cause devastating colony loss due to the impact of the mite itself as well as the transfer of microbial diseases it carries. Currently, both commercial and hobbyist beekeepers must decide between losing a colony now to Varroa destructor infestation, or later to consequent pesticide effects. Bringing a safe and effective new biological-based product to the market will lower beekeeper’s annual spending as well as time and effort to keep their colonies alive by leaving honey bee colonies free from the devastating downstream effects of traditional pesticides. In addition, the solution paves the way for more biologicals to be developed and commercialized through the novel scientific approach and technological advancement proposed herein, essentially reducing the perceived risk. The proposed project seeks to bring to market a novel, biorational, scientific approach in pesticide management of Varroa destructor mite infestation. This biorational pesticide is designed to target a little bug (the mite) that lives on a big bug (the honey bee) without harming the bee. No pesticide has previously taken the biorational approach described herein, thus a variety of experiments are necessary to optimize manufacturing and administration methods as well as provide proof of concept prior to bringing this product to market. The specific aims include: 1) the development of efficient and cost-effective mass production methods through empirical testing of varying growth conditions, 2) testing of various administration methods, including, but not limited to, liquid- and powder-based methods that are scalable and end-user friendly for three different groups of beekeepers (commercial, sideline, and hobbyist honey beekeepers), and 3) additional mode of action experiments to solidify the “proof of concept” of the novel technological advancement, including an in-depth examination of the effect on honey bee heath. This technology will include developing administration methods suitable for warehouses containing hundreds of colonies.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.