Understanding insecticide detoxification in the leafcutter bee, Megachile rotundata

Chemical insecticides have been used to control insect pests for many decades and remain essential to ensure a supply of affordable food and as part of disease vector control for the foreseeable future. A key requirement for the development of insecticides is that they are pest specific and not harmful to the main bee pollinator species which play an essential role in ensuring production of seeds in a remarkable range of flowering plants. Much of the research in this area has focussed on the honey bee (Apis mellifera) however, there is now increasing awareness of the importance of non-managed bee pollinators (such as solitary bees) in pollination services. This studentship aims to develop a detailed molecular and biochemical understanding of how insecticides interact with the solitary leafcutter bee, Megachile rotundata. The project will characterise detoxification enzymes from M. rotundata and examine their role in defining insecticide selectivity in vitro and in vivo. Such understanding will allow the molecular basis of differential selectivity within different chemical classes of commercial insecticides to be elucidated and so facilitate the rational design of novel bee-safe compounds.