Thursday, September 27, 2018
Bee-lieve It or Not
Since 2007, knowledge about the gut microbiome (a community of microorganisms that live within the digestive tracts of animals) has been greatly expanded. The research conducted has considerably shaped our understanding of why these complex communities of microorganisms are important for our digestive tract and immune system. Although scientists have primarily studied the human gut microbiome, this mutualistic relationship is not exclusive to only humans. Many other animals, including insects, also have a mutualistic relationship with gut flora.
Recent research has suggested that a disruption in the honey bee's gut microbiome may be to blame for the species' rapid decline. This disruption is thought to have been caused by a synthetic compound called glyphosate, which is found in the world's most commonly used herbicide. It is able to kill plants by blocking the production of a specific enzyme, EPSP synthase. This enzyme allows the plant to produce proteins essential for growth, therefore blocking the production of the enzyme is lethal. Aside from plants, this enzyme is also produced in some species of bacteria, thus bacteria can also be affected by Glyphosate. Interestingly, glyphosate does not affect animals because they lack EPSP synthase. Although animals experience no direct effects from glyphosate, because of the importance of the gut microbiome, they have the potential to be affected indirectly.
These secondary effects have catastrophic consequences. Nancy Moran, an evolutionary biologist from the University of Texas in Austin, has conducted a study in order to investigate the extent of this plight. In her study, approximately 2000 honey bees were fed either a sugar syrup or a syrup dosed with glyphosate. The results showed that after three days, the bees that were fed the glyphosate syrup had five times less gut bacterium than those fed the sugar syrup. This decrease in the bees' gut microbiome is significant because it increases their susceptibility to lethal infections. It was discovered that bees with healthy gut microbiomes have a 47% survival rate from infection, compared to a 12% survival rate for those affected by glyphosate.
Although we still do not know why acquiring a glyphosate-disrupted microbiome makes bees more susceptible to infection, there is a clear correlation between disrupted microbiomes and mortality rates in bees. This discovery has broadened the discussion about the potential reasons for the rapid decline in honey bee populations. Hopefully this new information can be used to help prevent similar situations in the future.
Posted by: Hayley Fecko (1)
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This post was really interesting! I hear the phrase "save the bees" all of the time and while I knew that the population was declining rapidly, I never knew some of the biological reasons. The fact that an ingredient in such a commonly used herbicide could be to blame is alarming. Is the detrimental ingredient in the herbicide one that is found in many other herbicides as well, or is it specific to this one herbicide? Are there cost effective alternatives to this herbicide? Hopefully we can soon make a change in order to begin rebuilding the population of bees!
ReplyDeletePosted by Jamie Downer (1)
In addition to the product mentioned above, glyphosate is found in the majority of other herbicide products. Although there are many products that do not contain glyphosate, they tend to be higher in cost. Cheaper alternatives to using a herbicide with glyphosate would include hand weeding and hot foam, but unfortunaltey these alternatives are often overlooked because it requires more groundwork.
DeletePosted by Hayley Fecko (1)
The plight of the honey bee has become a mainstream concern for sometime now. From my experience, it is common for people to know that the bee population is rapidly declining. but they are ignorant to the science as to why. In light of this recent study, hopefully people will become more knowledgeable about the causes behind the bee plight and advocate for the ban of herbicides that incorporate the synthetic compound glyphosate. My first thought for an alternative to the harmful herbicide was utilizing GMO's in the plants. Is this a feasible option? Has there been any advancements in this?
ReplyDeletePosted Jamie Courtney
Several studies have been conducted in order to learn more about how we might be able to utilize GMO's as an alternative to herbicides. Some studies compared the differences in crop yield between North America, where GMO's are extremely popular, and Europe, where GMO's are mostly banned. Herbicide is widely used in both North America and Europe. It was found that since the introduction of GMO crops in North America, herbicide use has increased by 21%. In Europe where GMO's are not used, over the same time period, there was actually a 36% decline in herbicide use. The results from these studies fascinatingly show a correlation between GMO use and herbicide use.
DeletePosted by Hayley Fecko (1)
I have always felt that there is a great initiative to protect bees from environmental changes and I never understood what pressures humanity was pushing on them. This post was a great example, and I'm sure these herbicides hurt even more organisms than bees in the long run.
ReplyDeleteIt is very sad that the population of bees have been declining to a very low number. It is very interesting to see what one of the causes of their decline might be. Even though losing bacterium in their stomach is a cause it is still essentially the fault of humans that bees are dying since we provide the herbicides that cause the decline of the bacterium in bees. Hopefully we can find a way to stop this and give bees a chance to increase their population size.
ReplyDeletePosted by "Edwin Montecinos"
Bee’s importance to an ecosystem is well known. The fact that the most common herbicide used in the world puts them at risk is shocking. The EPSP synthase deficiency in the plants is a horrible side effect and should be the sole reason why commercial farmers do not resort to the practice. The experiments show direct correlation of sugars affected by the herbicide and decreased survival rates of bee by deathly amounts. What herbicides contain the strongest concentrations of glyphosate? Is there a healthier alternative for the environment instead of chemicals aimed at growth hormones?
ReplyDeletePosted by "Chorryi Chin"
Gut bacteria also play an important role in human health. Some of its functions include salvaging calories, producing short chain fatty acids and amino acids, synthesizing vitamin k and folic acid, deconjugating bile acids, preventing pathogens from colonizing, stimulating immunoglobulin A production, promoting anti-inflammatory cytokines and inducing regulatory T-cells. Thus, it is very important for humans to ensure that their gut bacteria is functioning well by having a proper diet.
ReplyDeletePosted by Veshal Venkat