美国德克萨斯大学奥斯汀分校Nancy A. Moran、Jeffrey E. Barrick等研究人员合作利用工程化共生体激活蜜蜂的免疫力并限制病原体。这一研究成果发表在2020年1月31日出版的国际学术期刊《科学》上。

Title: Engineered symbionts activate honey bee immunity and limit pathogens

Author: Sean P. Leonard, J. Elijah Powell, Jiri Perutka, Peng Geng, Luke C. Heckmann, Richard D. Horak, Bryan W. Davies, Andrew D. Ellington, Jeffrey E. Barrick, Nancy A. Moran

Issue&Volume: 2020/01/31

Abstract: Honey bees are essential pollinators threatened by colony losses linked to the spread of parasites and pathogens. Here, we report a new approach for manipulating bee gene expression and protecting bee health. We engineered a symbiotic bee gut bacterium, Snodgrassella alvi, to induce eukaryotic RNA interference (RNAi) immune responses. We show that engineered S. alvi can stably recolonize bees and produce double-stranded RNA to activate RNAi and repress host gene expression, thereby altering bee physiology, behavior, and growth. We used this approach to improve bee survival after a viral challenge, and we show that engineered S. alvi can kill parasitic Varroa mites by triggering the mite RNAi response. This symbiont-mediated RNAi approach is a tool for studying bee functional genomics and potentially for safeguarding bee health.

DOI: 10.1126/science.aax9039

Source: https://science.sciencemag.org/content/367/6477/573