Completing genome of rusty patched bumble bee may offer new approach to
saving endangered bee

Date:
June 20, 2023
Source:
US Department of Agriculture - Agricultural Research Service
Summary:
A detailed, high-resolution map of the rusty patched bumble bee's
genome has been released, offering new approaches for bringing
the native pollinator back from the danger of extinction. Putting
together the rusty patched bumble bee genome is part of the Beenome
100 project, a first-of- its-kind effort to create a library of
high-quality, highly detailed genome maps of 100 or more diverse
bee species found in the United States.


Facebook Twitter Pinterest LinkedIN Email

==========================================================================
FULL STORY ==========================================================================
A detailed, high-resolution map of the rusty patched bumble bee's
genome has been released by U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA)
Agricultural Research Service (ARS) and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
(USFWS) scientists, offering new possible approaches for bringing the
native pollinator back from the danger of extinction.

Putting together the rusty patched bumble bee genome is part of the
Beenome 100 project, a first-of-its-kind effort to create a library
of high-quality, highly detailed genome maps of 100 or more diverse
bee species found in the United States. Beenome 100 is a collaborative undertaking of ARS and the University of Illinois. The expectation is that
this library will help researchers answer the big questions about bees
such as what genetic differences make a bee species more vulnerable to
climate change or whether a bee species is likely to be more susceptible
to a pesticide.

The rusty patched bumble bee (Bombus affinis)is an important pollinator of bergamot (Monarda fistulosa), milkweed, and other wildflowers, as well as
crops such as cranberries, plums, apples and alfalfa. But in the last 20
years or so, its population is estimated to have declined by 87 percent.

In 2017, the species was listed as "endangered." Where rusty patched
bumble bees were once common across the Upper Midwest and Northeast in 28 states and 2 Canadian provinces, now their range is down to disconnected
spots in 13 states and one Canadian province. Among the few places they
are still regularly found is around the Minneapolis-St. Paul area of
Minnesota and in Wisconsin.

"With the amount of detailed information that we and other researchers
now have access to in this newly sequenced genome, we have an opportunity
to find a whole different approach to strengthening rusty patched bumble
bee populations," said research entomologist Jonathan B. Uhaud Koch with
the ARS Pollinating Insect-Biology, Management, Systematics Research
Unit in Logan, Utah.

Koch explained that some of the factors contributing to the decline of
rusty patched bumble bees are already known: loss of habitat, reduced
variety of nectar sources, climate change, exposure to pesticides,
and more pathogens and pests.

While scientists have known the widespread presence of the fungal pathogen Varimorpha bombi(formerly called Nosema bombi) has a detrimental impact
on many rusty patched bumble bee populations, Koch was a bit surprised
by how much Varimorpha genetic material he found in the bumble bee sample
that was used to develop the genome map.

"We used a small piece of abdominal tissue from a single male collected
from a nest in Minnesota, which, given the endangered status of the rusty patched bumble bee, seemed like a very good idea," Koch said. "It's
only with the most cutting-edge equipment that you could resolve an
entire genome of 15,252 genes and 18 chromosomes from a tiny bit of one
bumble bee.

It turns out about 4.5 percent of the DNA the researchers sequenced
came from Microsporidia, the fungal group that includes Varimorpha bombi."That's a massive amount of genetic information from the bee
tissue sample to be associated with Varimorpha bombi. It demonstrates
how pervasive the pathogen is," Koch said.

"Having this high-quality genome will support the identification
of genetic differences between rusty patched bumble bee populations
that appear to be doing well versus where they are in decline," Koch
said. "This may give us a handle on identifying the genes that give the
more capable population its flexibility to deal with its environment. We
may also gain a better understanding of the genetic basis of bumble bee behavior, physiology and adaptation to changing environmental conditions."
Once the more successful genes for a particular type of local condition
are identified, researchers will be able to give a population a boost in
the right direction when it comes to restoring the rusty patched bumble
bee to an area through captive breeding programs.

* RELATED_TOPICS
o Plants_&_Animals
# Agriculture_and_Food # Food_and_Agriculture #
Evolutionary_Biology # Endangered_Animals # Biology #
Insects_(including_Butterflies) # Genetics # Nature
* RELATED_TERMS
o Bee_sting o Gene o DNA_repair o Pollination_management o
Mitosis o Crotalus_atrox o Gene_therapy o DNA_microarray

========================================================================== Story Source: Materials provided by US_Department_of_Agriculture_-_Agricultural_Research Service. Note:
Content may be edited for style and length.


========================================================================== Journal Reference:
1. Jonathan Berenguer Uhuad Koch, Sheina B Sim, Brian Scheffler,
Scott M
Geib, Tamara A Smith. Chromosome-scale genome assembly of the
rusty patched bumble bee, Bombus affinis (Cresson) (Hymenoptera:
Apidae), an endangered North American pollinator. G3: Genes,
Genomes, Genetics, 2023; DOI: 10.1093/g3journal/jkad119 ==========================================================================

Link to news story: https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2023/06/230620113757.htm

--- up 1 year, 16 weeks, 1 day, 10 hours, 50 minutes
* Origin: -=> Castle Rock BBS <=- Now Husky HPT Powered! (1:317/3)