Team:CSL Pittsburgh

The Effects of Insecticide-resistant Microbiota in Apis Mellifera

Abstract

The honeybee, Apis mellifera, is an important pollinator that is suffering from a crisis called Colony Collapse Disorder. This causes drastic declines in bee populations, disrupting wild ecosystems and global agriculture. In this study, a primary CCD culprit, imidacloprid, is detoxified via paratransgenesis. Using this technique, the midgut bacteria of the bee are engineered to express a cytochrome p450, rendering the bee resistant to the insecticide. By attaching the reporter phoA to the CYP6AY1 gene found in Nilaparvata lugens, the expression of the protein can be monitored. The signal sequence pelB is used to secrete the protein into the bee gut, where it can metabolize the imidacloprid. Once this system successfully functions in-vitro, the transgenic bacteria can be introduced to the bee orally and monitored for significant effects. We hypothesize that this treatment will increase the survival rate of A. mellifera when exposed to imidacloprid.