The influence of diet on the honeybee lipidome

Lead Research Organisation: Royal Botanic Gardens
Department Name: Natural Capital and Plant Health

Abstract

Abstracts are not currently available in GtR for all funded research. This is normally because the abstract was not required at the time of proposal submission, but may be because it included sensitive information such as personal details.

Technical Summary

Lipids are the substrates of membranes, precursors for hormones, and the means for energy storage in animals. Dietary lipids, such as the polyunsaturated fatty acids linoleic and alpha-linolenic acid, alter the composition of lipid species in an animal's tissues with impacts on animal health, longevity, and fecundity. The impact of dietary lipids on the corporeal lipidome could be greater in insects than mammals, because they cannot synthesize polyunsaturated fatty acids (FAs) or sterols. It is currently unclear how diet modifies an organism's entire lipidome. Honeybees acquire protein, lipids, and micronutrients from floral pollen, but their requirements for dietary fat are poorly characterized. We will test how FAs and sterols in diet affect the entire lipidome of every caste and life history stage in a honeybee colony. We will employ state-of-the art lipidomics to study how specific lipids are incorporated into tissues such as the brain, fat body, and gut. By rearing adult workers in the lab on chemically defined foods previously designed by our team, we will test how FAs affect the regulation of dietary protein, fat, and carbohydrate. Through prior BBSRC funding, we have developed specialized methods for studying whole colony nutrition by feeding small colonies in an enclosed setting with no access to external pollen and nectar. Using this approach, we will also study how the FA composition of food eaten by adult workers affects lipids in the glandular secretions fed to the developing larval workers, queens, and drones. In the field, we will measure how dietary FAs affect the performance of whole colonies with a focus on the foraging worker bee. These data will provide the foundation for studies of the role of fats in bee health and will provide valuable insight towards the importance of dietary fats in the honeybee life cycle, information critical to improving bee welfare.

Planned Impact

World agriculture relies on pollinators for food security. In many modern agricultural settings where fruits, vegetables, and nuts are cultivated, pollination is accomplished by honeybee colonies. Plant diversity is usually low in agricultural settings, making it difficult for pollinators to acquire the nutrition they need. Beekeepers now routinely supply honeybee colonies with food to augment the lack of pollen in the landscape. They can purchase food substitutes for pollen, but these substitutes lack essential nutrients. None have been formulated in a way that optimizes combinations of macro- and micronutrients for honeybees. In some cases, they are also made with cheap materials that can cause dysentery.

Unlike other domesticated animals, the nutrition of honeybees has lagged behind. Using information from our basic research on nutrition funded by the BBSRC, we predicted which combination of nutrients would optimize bee performance. These ideas were patented in 2015. By testing many potential substrates, we have created a pollen substitute for honeybee colonies that enhances brood and honey production and reduces Nosema (a gut parasite) load compared to leading commercially-available products. These endeavours, supported by BBSRC responsive mode, an Enterprise fellowship, Follow on Funding, led to the formation of a university spin-out company with the ultimate aim of making foods that improve nutrition for domesticated bees worldwide.

The basic research proposed here will identify the distribution of fats in bee bodies and how fatty acids and sterols in diet influence bee longevity and development. Based on our research, we know that fats are a critical ingredient in any supplementary food that replaces pollen. These experiments will permit us to test many sources of fatty acids that could be added to supplemental foods. An exciting facet of our research will also identify how diet influences the honeybee's glandular secretions (e.g. royal jelly) to affect larval development. The insight gained from these experiments could lead to future innovations in foods designed to optimize queen and drone performance. Our data will also reveal which fatty acid sources and sterols will optimize whole colony performance. In addition, these data could be generalized to identify which plant species' pollen is best for honeybees. This information could be used to inform land managers of which plants are best to cultivate in field margins to improve pollinator welfare in agricultural landscapes.

The data we produce from this work will be protected by intellectual property agreements at our respective universities. We will publish our results in scientific journals and translate our findings for beekeepers through articles in beekeeping magazines, talks at beekeeping conferences, and through our own websites. We expect that the data from our proposal will permit beekeepers to improve upon their methods of feeding and will have a significant, positive impact on pollination services for agricultural crops worldwide.

Publications

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Furse S (2021) A pipeline for making 31P NMR accessible for small- and large-scale lipidomics studies. in Analytical and bioanalytical chemistry

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Vítová M (2021) The biosynthesis of phospholipids is linked to the cell cycle in a model eukaryote in Biochimica et Biophysica Acta (BBA) - Molecular and Cell Biology of Lipids

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Furse S (2022) Lipid metabolism is dysregulated in a mouse model of diabetes. in Metabolomics : Official journal of the Metabolomic Society

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Furse S (2023) Sterol and lipid metabolism in bees. in Metabolomics : Official journal of the Metabolomic Society

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Stevenson PC (2022) Natural processes influencing pollinator health. in Philosophical transactions of the Royal Society of London. Series B, Biological sciences

 
Description Invitation to UK government cross part Science Innovation and Technology select committee hearing on Insect Decline in the UK
Geographic Reach National 
Policy Influence Type Participation in a guidance/advisory committee
Impact Selected specialists invited to discuss helped UK SITC committee to draft a policy informing government of mitigations for insect decline in UK.
URL https://t.co/3r517giUGa
 
Description Are sterols landscape limiting nutrients for wild bees in the UK?
Amount £650,280 (GBP)
Funding ID NE/V012282/1 
Organisation Natural Environment Research Council 
Sector Public
Country United Kingdom
Start 06/2021 
End 07/2024
 
Description Can flowering plants produce addictive behaviours in bee pollinators?
Amount £469,000 (GBP)
Funding ID RPG-2020-393 
Organisation The Leverhulme Trust 
Sector Charity/Non Profit
Country United Kingdom
Start 03/2021 
End 03/2025
 
Description Collaborative Research: Integrating molecular, cellular, organismal and community scales to understand how plants structure pollinator-pathogen dynamics
Amount $1,400,000 (USD)
Funding ID 2128221 
Organisation National Science Foundation (NSF) 
Sector Public
Country United States
Start 01/2022 
End 12/2026
 
Description Improving pollination services in protected and controlled environment grown tomatoes in the UK. We have 
Organisation University of Oxford
Country United Kingdom 
Sector Academic/University 
PI Contribution We have developed a new partnership between NRI at University of Greenwich with University of Oxford and OXFORD BEE OPS LTD with Thanet Earth to develop a funding proposal for BBSRC PACE call.
Collaborator Contribution Co-authorship of proposal with was ultimately successful (Grant BB/Z51438X/1).
Impact Successful proposal to BBSRC
Start Year 2023
 
Description Conference: Influence of natural processes on pollinator health. 
Form Of Engagement Activity Participation in an activity, workshop or similar
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach International
Primary Audience Professional Practitioners
Results and Impact Evidence from the last few decades indicates that pollinator abundance and diversity are at risk, with many species in decline. Anthropogenic impacts have been the focus of much recent work on the causes of these declines. However, natural processes, from plant chemistry, nutrition and microbial associations to landscape and habitat change, can also profoundly influence pollinator health. Here, we argue that these natural processes require greater attention and may even provide solutions to the deteriorating outlook for pollinators. Existing studies also focus on the decline of individuals and colonies and only occasionally at population levels. In the light of this we redefine pollinator health and argue that a top-down approach is required focusing at the ecological level of communities.
A conference was hosted at Kew Gardens over two days with 20 speakers each contributing a paper to a special issue of Phil Trans B and with 400+ registered participants from around the world. We use examples from the primary research, opinion and review articles published in this special issue to illustrate how natural processes influence pollinator health, from community to individuals, and highlight where some of these processes could mitigate the challenges of anthropogenic and natural drivers of change.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2022
URL https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/rstb.2021.0154
 
Description Insects & The Lynx Effect: A live streamed presentation for Pint of Science 
Form Of Engagement Activity A broadcast e.g. TV/radio/film/podcast (other than news/press)
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach International
Primary Audience Public/other audiences
Results and Impact This presentation was performed by Sarah Arnold and Steven Harte and organised through the Pint of Science organisation. Live streamed on both Youtube and Facebook, the presentation looked at the effects of pheromones and other semiochemicals have on the behaviour of insects. This event lasted one hour and was intended to engage the public in current cutting edge research going on in the local region, as such it included a 20 minute Q&A session with the live audience where a lively discussion occurred including whether using peoples scents could be used in online dating. The event had over 100 people watching live and at the time of writing has had over 1000 views on Youtube.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2020
URL https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bhNKaxWgfpk&t=2638s
 
Description Interview and discussion for Sky News 
Form Of Engagement Activity A broadcast e.g. TV/radio/film/podcast (other than news/press)
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach International
Primary Audience Media (as a channel to the public)
Results and Impact Phil Stevenson and Ellen Baker were interviewed by Tom Heap for Sky News program The Climate Show with Tom Heap on beekeeping in cities.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2023
URL https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YBWZwCsi1_o
 
Description Interviewed for an article in Financial Times 
Form Of Engagement Activity A magazine, newsletter or online publication
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach International
Primary Audience Public/other audiences
Results and Impact Discussed future for food and sustainable agriculture.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2022
 
Description Interviewed for article in New Scientist 
Form Of Engagement Activity A magazine, newsletter or online publication
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach International
Primary Audience Public/other audiences
Results and Impact Interviewed to comment on the challenges of keeping bees in urban landscapes and the impact of this practice on wild native populations and communities of pollinators. This was specifically in response to a recent paper published in Canada on this topic and I was asked owing to my own recent work in this research field.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2023
URL https://www.newscientist.com/article/2359738-rise-in-urban-beekeeping-may-be-crowding-out-native-bee...
 
Description NIAB-CropScienceCentre-Cambirdge and RBG Kew minor crops research workshop 20-21 Mat 2021 
Form Of Engagement Activity A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach National
Primary Audience Professional Practitioners
Results and Impact Workshop to identify synergies and opportunities in current and future research around minor and orphan crops for NIAB-CSC Cambridge University and Kew.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2021
 
Description Presentation at Assoc of Appl. Biologists Innovations in Farmed Landscapes. 
Form Of Engagement Activity A talk or presentation
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach International
Primary Audience Professional Practitioners
Results and Impact The Association of Applied Biologists teamed up with the British Ecological Society and Royal Entomological Society to deliver a 3-day conference "Shaping the Future for Pollinators: Innovations in Farmed Landscapes". Pollinators play a vital role in maintaining both semi-natural and agricultural ecosystems and healthy populations bolster food security, livelihoods and social wellbeing. With evidence that many species of pollinators are in decline, their conservation and management is of great public, economic and political interest. As a result, the ecology and conservation of managed and wild pollinators is a rapidly growing field of research, alongside the study of their associated ecosystem services.
This conference aimed to determine how we can shape farmed landscapes to make them resilient to future challenges such as climate change. Delegates will explore the impact of agricultural practices at the farm and landscape scale on pollinator behaviour, ecology and the delivery of ecosystem services. Talks and discussions not only to share current best practices on the sustainable management of pollination services, but explore how novel innovations can create new opportunities and address future risks. This conference brought together researchers, practitioners and policymakers to debate recent advancements in the field of pollinator research; and also to go beyond ecological research to explore emerging technologies within the field.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2022
URL https://www.aab.org.uk/event/shaping-the-future-for-pollinators-innovations-in-farmed-landscapes/
 
Description Public lecture to the Somerset Beekeepers association 
Form Of Engagement Activity A talk or presentation
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach International
Primary Audience Professional Practitioners
Results and Impact Presentation via Zoom to an International audience of beekeepers around the world hosted buy the Somerset Beekeepers Association. Primarily presenting our work on pollinators and the new work on NERC grant and BBSRC grants investigating lipids in pollen.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2021
 
Description Talk to Bee Keepers Chalfont 
Form Of Engagement Activity A talk or presentation
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach Local
Primary Audience Public/other audiences
Results and Impact Presentation of our research to the Chalfont St Peters Beekeepers Asccociation.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2020