[Pollinator] MSNBC.com: New clue found to disappearing honey bees

[Jennifer Tsang]

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/32541662/ns/technology_and_science-science/

 

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  MSNBC.com


New clue found to disappearing honey bees 

Damage to bees' internal 'factories' may be behind decline in population

The Associated Press

updated 11:59 a.m. PT, Mon., Aug 24, 2009

Researchers have a new clue to the collapse of honey bee colonies across the
country - damage to the bees' internal "factories" that produce proteins.

Theories about the cause of bee colony collapse have included viruses,
mites, pesticides and fungi.

The new study of sick bees disclosed fragments of ribosomal RNA in their
gut, an indication of damage to the ribosomes, which make proteins necessary
for life, according to a study in Tuesday's issue of Proceedings of the
National Academy of Sciences.

RNA, which is made from DNA, is central to protein production.

The sick bees suffered an unusually high number of infections with viruses
that attack the ribosome, the researchers from the University of Illinois at
Urbana-Champaign and the U.S. Department of Agriculture reported.

"If your ribosome is compromised, then you can't respond to pesticides, you
can't respond to fungal infections or bacteria or inadequate nutrition
because the ribosome is central to the survival of any organism. You need
proteins to survive," May R. Berenbaum, head of the department of entomology
at Illinois, said in a statement.

The researchers said the varroa mite, which was accidentally introduced to
the U.S. in 1986, is a carrier of picorna-like viruses that damage the
ribosomes.

The mite may act as a tipping factor leading to ribosome breakdown, the
researchers said.

The study was funded by the Department of Agriculture.

C 2009 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be
published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

URL: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/32541662/ns/technology_and_science-science/

 

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