Juanse Barros asks, "So how does fumagilin works?"

I'm basing this response on a conversation I had many years ago with
Eric Mussen.  It is my recollection of what Eric said.  Please note
there are no grammatical constructs such as: Eric said, "This is how
fumagillin works."  Anything I write hereafter should be read that
Aaron's memory of a conversation that took place well over 5 years ago
is as follows.

The critter that causes nosema in honey bees (at the time the critter
was classified as a protozoan, not a microsporidian nor a fungus) has a
barb-like aparatus (with a fibrous connection twixt barb and body) that
it "fires" into the lining of the bees gut as it is passing through the
bees' digestive tract, thereby anchoring the critter in the bee gut.
Anchored thusly, the critter is in a happy space where it is able to
thrive and reproduce in the manner that the critter is accustomed
(binary fission?).  The discussion of the process segued into a
discussion of Alien, staring Sigourney Weaver
(http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0078748/) but eventually got back on topic.
My recollection is an assertion that fumagillin affects the recombinant
RNA (and yes folks, I am really vague on this recollection) in a manner
that impede the critter's ability to "fire the barb", hence it
harmlessly passes through the bees' digestive tract.

Now I'm not positive if it's recombinant DNA or R-RNA, I googled a
little while I made this post up but that didn't jog my memory.  I am
fairly to very confident that the manner in which fumagillin works is
that it keeps "the critter" from being anchored in the bees digestive
tract.  I don't recollect any assertion of "death to critter" and I
don't think there was discussion regarding life of critter after
exposure.  There was discussion regarding concern of keeping human
exposure to fumagillin to zero (as in contaminated honey).  The
discussion was predicated on a query if fumagillin could be incorporated
into a pollen patty, which Eric dismissed as a bad idea (stick to the
label).

Aaron Morris - thinking bee conferences are wonderful events!

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