Agricultural Policies Exacerbate Honeybee Pollination Service Supply-Demand Mismatches Across Europe

Breeze, Tom D.; Vaissière, Bernard; Bommarco, Riccardo; Petanidou, Theodora; Seraphides, Nicos; Kozák, Lajos; Scheper, Jeroen; Biesmeijer, Jacobus C.; Kleijn, David; Gyldenkærne, Steen; Moretti, Marco; Holzschuh, Andrea; Steffan‐Dewenter, Ingolf; Stout, Jane C.; Pärtel, Meelis; Zobel, Martin; Potts, Simon G.

doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0082996

Cited by 192 publications

(163 citation statements)

References 59 publications

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“…However, colony losses due to BColony Collapse Disorder^in North America and competing pollination demands have fueled increased hive rental fees and supply shortages for apple growers (Oldroyd 2007;vanEngelsdorp et al 2009). Inadequate Apis supplies have already been linked with sub-optimal production of highly pollinator-dependent crops, including high bush blueberry, gala apples, and oilseed rape (Benjamin and Winfree 2014;Breeze et al 2014;Garratt et al 2014). The threat of pollinator shortages due to continuing declines in Apis highlights a need to examine alternative pollinators for apple.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Per-visit pollinator performance and regional importance of wild Bombus and Andrena (Melandrena) compared to the managed honey bee in New York apple orchards

et al. 2015

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-Declines in honey bee health and increasing demand for pollination services highlight a need to optimize crop pollination by wild bees. Apple is an economically important crop in eastern North America, requires insect pollination, and is visited by a diverse bee fauna, but a direct assessment of wild bee pollination in apple orchards is lacking. We combined measurements of two facets of pollination service, per-visit efficiency (fruit and seed set) and relative abundance, to estimate orchard-level, pollinator importance of mining bees (Andrena subgenus Melandrena ), bumble bees (Bombus ), and honey bees (Apis mellifera L.). Average pollinator importance provided a relative measure that allowed comparison of pollination service among the three focal bees across the study region. On average, a wild bee visit resulted in higher pollen transfer to stigmas, but had the same probability of setting fruit and seed as a honey bee visit. Regionally, pollinator importance of Melandrena and Bombus were 32 and 14 % that of honey bees, respectively. Because per-visit performances were similar, such disparities in importance were based largely on differences in relative abundance. Although the summed pollinator importance of Melandrena and Bombus was less than that of the honey bee, these, and other, wild pollinators have a role to play in filling future pollination gaps, and thus, warrant further study and conservation.native bee / Apis mellifera / reproductive success / crop pollination

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Per-visit pollinator performance and regional importance of wild Bombus and Andrena (Melandrena) compared to the managed honey bee in New York apple orchards

et al. 2015

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“…T he mismatch between the increasing demand for pollination in agriculture and the capacity of honey bees to provide such ecological service severely undermines the sustainability of our food production system (1). Indeed, apiculture is facing a major crisis owing to concurrent factors, such as landscape deterioration, agrochemicals, and parasites (2).…”

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confidence: 99%

A mutualistic symbiosis between a parasitic mite and a pathogenic virus undermines honey bee immunity and health

Prisco

Annoscia

Margiotta

et al. 2016

Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.

217

239

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Honey bee colony losses are triggered by interacting stress factors consistently associated with high loads of parasites and/or pathogens. A wealth of biotic and abiotic stressors are involved in the induction of this complex multifactorial syndrome, with the parasitic mite Varroa destructor and the associated deformed wing virus (DWV) apparently playing key roles. The mechanistic basis underpinning this association and the evolutionary implications remain largely obscure. Here we narrow this research gap by demonstrating that DWV, vectored by the Varroa mite, adversely affects humoral and cellular immune responses by interfering with NF-κB signaling. This immunosuppressive effect of the viral pathogen enhances reproduction of the parasitic mite. Our experimental data uncover an unrecognized mutualistic symbiosis between Varroa and DWV, which perpetuates a loop of reciprocal stimulation with escalating negative effects on honey bee immunity and health. These results largely account for the remarkable importance of this mite-virus interaction in the induction of honey bee colony losses. The discovery of this mutualistic association and the elucidation of the underlying regulatory mechanisms sets the stage for a more insightful analysis of how synergistic stress factors contribute to colony collapse, and for the development of new strategies to alleviate this problem.Apis mellifera | Varroa destructor | deformed wing virus | mutualistic symbiosis | honeybee colony losses

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“…However, honey bee populations have suffered high losses in much of the world (1), coincident with an increase in agricultural demand for honey bee pollination (2). Specifically, honey bee colony losses in the United States have been exacerbated since the report of colony collapse disorder (CCD), a syndrome that comprises large-scale, unexplained losses of managed honey bees (3)(4)(5)(6)(7)(8)(9).…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Silencing the Honey Bee (Apis mellifera) Naked Cuticle Gene ( nkd ) Improves Host Immune Function and Reduces Nosema ceranae Infections

Li¹,

Evans²,

Huang

et al. 2016

Appl Environ Microbiol

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Nosema ceranae is a new and emerging microsporidian parasite of European honey bees, Apis mellifera, that has been implicated in colony losses worldwide. RNA interference (RNAi), a posttranscriptional gene silencing mechanism, has emerged as a potent and specific strategy for controlling infections of parasites and pathogens in honey bees. While previous studies have focused on the silencing of parasite/pathogen virulence factors, we explore here the possibility of silencing a host factor as a mechanism for reducing parasite load. Specifically, we used an RNAi strategy to reduce the expression of a honey bee gene, naked cuticle (nkd), which is a negative regulator of host immune function. Our studies found that nkd mRNA levels in adult bees were upregulated by N. ceranae infection (and thus, the parasite may use this mechanism to suppress host immune function) and that ingestion of double-stranded RNA (dsRNA) specific to nkd efficiently silenced its expression. Furthermore, we found that RNAimediated knockdown of nkd transcripts in Nosema-infected bees resulted in upregulation of the expression of several immune genes (Abaecin, Apidaecin, Defensin-1, and PGRP-S2), reduction of Nosema spore loads, and extension of honey bee life span. The results of our studies clearly indicate that silencing the host nkd gene can activate honey bee immune responses, suppress the reproduction of N. ceranae, and improve the overall health of honey bees. This study represents a novel host-derived therapeutic for honey bee disease treatment that merits further exploration. IMPORTANCEGiven the critical role of honey bees in the pollination of agricultural crops, it is urgent to develop strategies to prevent the colony decline induced by the infection of parasites/pathogens. Targeting parasites and pathogens directly by RNAi has been proven to be useful for controlling infections in honey bees, but little is known about the disease impacts of RNAi silencing of host factors. Here, we demonstrate that knocking down the honey bee immune repressor-encoding nkd gene can suppress the reproduction of N. ceranae and improve the overall health of honey bees, which highlights the potential role of host-derived and RNAi-based therapeutics in controlling the infections in honey bees. The information obtained from this study will have positive implications for honey bee disease management practices. E uropean honey bees, Apis mellifera, play a critical role in the pollination of important crops. However, honey bee populations have suffered high losses in much of the world (1), coincident with an increase in agricultural demand for honey bee pollination (2). Specifically, honey bee colony losses in the United States have been exacerbated since the report of colony collapse disorder (CCD), a syndrome that comprises large-scale, unexplained losses of managed honey bees (3-9). High levels of parasites and pathogens have been linked to the decline of honey bee colonies (10,11).Nosema is a genus of obligate, intracellular microsporidian parasite...

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Agricultural Policies Exacerbate Honeybee Pollination Service Supply-Demand Mismatches Across Europe

Cited by 192 publications

References 59 publications

Per-visit pollinator performance and regional importance of wild Bombus and Andrena (Melandrena) compared to the managed honey bee in New York apple orchards

Per-visit pollinator performance and regional importance of wild Bombus and Andrena (Melandrena) compared to the managed honey bee in New York apple orchards

A mutualistic symbiosis between a parasitic mite and a pathogenic virus undermines honey bee immunity and health

Silencing the Honey Bee (Apis mellifera) Naked Cuticle Gene ( nkd ) Improves Host Immune Function and Reduces Nosema ceranae Infections

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