Production of key nutritional resources for domesticated honeybees

驯化蜜蜂（Apis mellifera）对世界粮食安全至关重要，因为它们为作物提供授粉服务。购买或雇佣蜂群来为水果和蔬菜授粉，每年要花费数百万英镑。蜜蜂通过收集和储存花蜜和花粉来喂养自己。养蜂人在农业生态系统中面临的最大挑战之一是为他们的蜂群寻找有足够花粉来源的栖息地。花粉提供蛋白质、脂肪、碳水化合物、固醇和其他微量营养素。当无法获得花粉时，商业养蜂人使用“花粉替代品”作为蜜蜂食物的一种形式已成为一种普遍做法。然而，赖特实验室的研究发现，商业生产的花粉替代品缺少关键的营养成分。我们实验室的初步研究已经确定，某些种类的海洋大型藻类含有花粉中发现的一些稀有营养物质。英国和欧洲的几家公司现在收获海藻用作肥料、生物燃料以及人类和动物的营养。一家位于爱尔兰的公司（Hive Alive）已经在销售一种膀胱残骸（Asconodum sp）的提取物，作为蜜蜂的健康补充剂。也许可以使用其他种类的海藻作为蜜蜂的食物补充，但海洋大藻提取物对蜜蜂的全部营养价值尚不清楚。此外，有可能通过改造微生物来生产蜜蜂所需的关键营养物质。该项目将确定生产或提取蜜蜂饮食所需的关键营养素的方法，这些营养素目前在全球食品市场上还没有。这项工作将包括学习提取和识别植物和大型藻类中的关键营养物质。这项工作还可能涉及使用系统生物学方法来设计微生物以产生关键的营养物质。学生将在实验室和现场与经验丰富的科学家和养蜂人一起进行蜜蜂喂养实验，测试提取物和营养素。学生将学习进行饲养生物测定和蜜蜂健康测量，包括下咽腺发育、瓦螨感染和畸形翼病毒的发病率。目标1：从植物、大型藻类和其他来源中提取关键缺失的营养物质目标2：利用系统生物学方法开发创造关键营养物质的方法目标3：测试提取物和化合物对蜂群产卵、健康和寿命的影响学生将在伦敦皇家植物园（Kew）的Jodrell实验室工作第一年的一部分。他们将在第二年访问位于苏格兰奥本的苏格兰海洋科学协会实验室，与我们的工业伙伴一起工作。作为研究的一部分，这名学生还将加入该大学衍生公司Apix Nutrition的成员，在欧洲和美国对蜜蜂的食物进行实地试验。该研究项目将使候选人在新的分拆公司中担任职务，或在化学生态学方面从事学术工作。

Domesticated honeybees (Apis mellifera) are important for world food security because of the pollination services they provide to crops. Honeybee colonies are purchased or hired to pollinate fruits and vegetables at a cost of millions of pounds annually. Honeybees feed themselves by collecting and storing floral nectar and pollen. One of the greatest challenges beekeepers face in agro-ecosystems is finding habitat for their colonies that has sufficient sources of floral pollen. Pollen provides protein, fats, carbohydrates, sterols, and other micronutrients. When pollen is unavailable, it has become common practice of commercial beekeepers to use 'pollen substitutes' as a form of bee food. However, research from Wright's lab has identified that commercially-produced pollen substitutes are missing key nutrients. Preliminary research in our labs has identified that certain species of marine macroalgae contain some of the rare nutrients found in pollen. Several companies in the UK and Europe now harvest seaweed for use as fertilizer, biofuel, and human and animal nutrition. One company based in Ireland (Hive Alive) is already marketing an extract of bladderwrack (Asconodum sp) as a health supplement for bees. It might be possible to use other species of seaweed as a food supplement for honeybees but the full nutritional benefits to honeybees of marine macroalgal extracts, however, are unknown. In addition, it might be possible to engineer micro-organisms to produce the key nutrients that bees need. This project will identify ways to produce or extract key nutrients bees need for their diet that are not currently available in the global food market. The work will involve learning to extract and identify key nutrients in plants and macroalgae. The work may also involve using systems biology approaches to engineer micro-organisms to produce key nutrients. The student will test extracts and nutrients in feeding experiments with bees in the laboratory and in the field alongside an experienced team of scientists and beekeepers. The student will learn to conduct feeding bioassays and measurements of bee health that include hypopharyngeal gland development, Varroa mite infestation, and incidence of Deformed Wing Virus. Aim 1: To extract critical missing nutrients from plant, macroalgae and other sourcesAim 2: To develop methods for creating key nutrients using systems biology approachesAim 3: To test extracts and compounds on honeybee colony brood production, health and longevityThe student will work in London at the Jodrell Laboratory at Royal Botanic Gardens (Kew) for a portion of the first year of the fellowship. They will visit the Scottish Association for Marine Sciences laboratories in Oban, Scotland, to work with our industrial partners during the second year. As part of the research, the student will also join members of the university spin-out company, Apix Nutrition, to perform field trials of foods for bees in Europe and the USA. The research program will position the candidate for a role within the new spin-out company or for an academic career in chemical ecology.