Elucidating the honey bee immune response and pathogen transmission at varroa mite feeding sites

由于蜜蜂的授粉服务，蜜蜂对全球粮食生产至关重要。令人担忧的是，一场众所周知的蜜蜂健康危机威胁着蜜蜂种群，进而威胁到全球粮食安全。特别值得注意的是，在过去的50年里，外部寄生螨类瓦罗破坏因子从亚洲蜜蜂(Apis Cerana)蔓延到西方蜜蜂(A.melvena)上的几乎全球存在。最近，人们认识到Varroa在蜜蜂群体中的高致命性不是由于Varroa单独存在，而是由于它与变形翅膀病毒(DWV)的相互作用。母体Varroa在未成熟的蜜蜂上创建了一个无法愈合的叮咬部位，从而使她的后代能够从公共喂食部位进食，以完成其余的发育。在这种叮咬和喂食过程中，瓦罗亚会将唾液生物活性化合物吐到咬伤部位，防止其愈合，从而调节蜜蜂的免疫系统，并传播变形的翅膀病毒。该项目的目的是阐明Varroa-DWV-蜜蜂在叮咬部位附近的相互作用并从那里传播。该项目为学生提供了很大的发展方向。提供了一个完整的通用技能培训方案。该项目将提供昆虫免疫学、粉尘学、现代分子生物学技术(RNAseq、生物信息学、基因敲除、qPCR、原位杂交)、病毒学、组织学和基础养蜂学方面的培训。

Honey bees (Apis mellifera) are critically important to global food production by virtue of their pollination services. Worryingly, there is a well-recognised honey bee health crisis threatening bee populations and, thereby, global food security. Of particular note has been the spread of the external parasitic mite Varroa destructor from the Asian honey bee (Apis cerana) to a near global presence on the Western honey bee (A. mellifera) over the past 50 years. More recently, it has been recognized that the high lethality of Varroa infestation in a honey bee colony is not due to Varroa in isolation but due to its interaction with the deformed wing virus (DWV).The maternal Varroa creates a bite site on the immature bee that does not heal, thus, allowing her offspring to feed from the communal feeding site for the rest of their development. During this biting and feeding the Varroa spit salivary bioactive compounds to the bite site preventing it from healing over, modulating the honey bee's immune system and also transmitting deformed wing virus. The aim of the project is to elucidate the interaction of the Varroa-DWV-honey bee within the vicinity of the bite site and disseminating from there.The project offers the student much scope for developing its direction as it progresses. A full programme of generic skill training is available. The project will provide training in insect immunology, acarology, modern molecular biology techniques (RNAseq, bioinformatics, gene knockdown, qPCR, in situ hybridization), virology, histology and basic bee husbandry.