Researchers may have discovered why bees are naturally immune to certain diseases.
According to GeoBeats News:
BYPASS THE CENSORS
Sign up to get unfiltered news delivered straight to your inbox.
You can unsubscribe any time. By subscribing you agree to our Terms of Use
Scientists have known this for some time, but the process by which bee-immunization occurs has eluded the entomological community for years. That may be changing.
An international team of researchers recently published a study in the journal PLOS Pathogens which links pre-formed bee immunity to a common protein found in bees’ blood.
In a typical honey bee colony, the queen bee doesn’t get out much. So, forager bees bring food to her. While out and about, the foragers tend to pick up pathogenic bacteria as they gather pollen and nectar.
Once the pollen makes it back to the hive, worker bees turn it into “royal jelly” which is fed exclusively to the queen–and contains bacterial pathogens.
The queen digests the bacterial pathogens, which are transferred and stored in her “fat body”–an organ similar to the liver in vertebrates. Some of the bacterial pathogens bind themselves to the vitellogenin protein which is carried through the queen’s blood to developing eggs.
These bacteria more or less inoculate baby bees by strengthening their immune systems against diseases specific to their environment.
Professor Gro Amdam, co-author of the study, said, “The process by which bees transfer immunity to their babies was a big mystery until now.
What we found is that it’s as simple as eating.”
Researchers hope to use the discovery to develop and patent an edible bee vaccine to help pollinators against infectious diseases which can decimate entire bee populations.
Latest posts by Royce Christyn (see all)
- Government Op Who Predicted Super Bowl Score Warns Of Nuclear War - February 18, 2017
- Video: Why Voting Doesn’t Change Anything & Democracy Is A Lie - May 7, 2016
- Did Bible Verse Predict String of Recent Quakes, Volcano, & Foam? - April 17, 2016
Researchers need real jobs, so they can stop fucking with nature.
Researchers need real jobs, so they can stop fucking with nature.