A study published this week in the journal PLOS Pathogens reveals bees naturally vaccinate their babies against common infections, just the way humans develop vaccines and inoculate people against common diseases. He stressed how investment in research pays off in the end. Because of this, bee babies enter the world vaccinated. After this happens, pieces of the pathogen binds to the aforementioned protein and then get transferred to babies through blood and blood protein.
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After the queen eats this bacteria rich meal, she digests the pathogens in the gut and transfers them to the body cavity.
Another day, another study that proves humans are not as unique in their intelligence as we thought they were.
The scientists illustrated the deceitfulness of shot: hunter bees compile plant pollen and nectar for your development of original honey, but also in the method, they will meet unsafe pathoenic agents within the climate. The worker bees back in the hive use the pollen collected by the foragers to create “royal jelly” – a specially made food for the queen bee that typically contains the bacteria picked up from outside.
The queen’s bloodstream then delivers the pathogens to her eggs, resulting in bee larvae which are immune to various types of bacteria and germs that could harm the entire colony.
“Because this vaccination process is naturally occurring, this process would be cheap and ultimately simple to implement”.
Since queen bees do not leave their nest very often the rest of the members of the colony must bring her food: royal jelly. Bee population in the United States alone has dropped from six million to two and a half million, partly due to disease.
Following the study, Amdam and co-author Dalial Freitak of the University of Helsinki hope that the discovery would lead to the first-ever natural vaccine for insects. They found the substance plays a crucial role in the prevention of disease in the insects.
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The researchers have affirmed that this process is not able to protect bees from all diseases, like American Foul Brood, the deformed wing virus and the nosema fungi. “We are patenting a way to produce a harmless vaccine, as well as how to cultivate the vaccines and introduce them to bee hives through a cocktail the bees would eat”, said Freitak. Bees play an important role in global food production. Rather, they are infused with the immunization protein through food. This revelation could even provide benefits for other species and massively impact food production, as all egg-laying species – including fish, poultry, reptiles, amphibians, and insects – have the vitellogenin protein in their bodies, the researches noted.
