http://www.ars.usda.gov/is/pr/2009/091127.htm

Scientists Uncover Immunity-Related Genes in Alfalfa Leafcutting Bee
By Stephanie
Yao <http://www.ars.usda.gov/is/contacts.htm#Stephanie>
November 27, 2009

The first analysis of immunity-related genes in a solitary bee has been
conducted by Agricultural Research Service <http://www.ars.usda.gov/> (ARS)
scientists and cooperators.

Honey bees and bumble bees are called “social bees” because they live in
colonies and form societies containing a queen and her workers. Bees that do
not live in colonies are called “solitary bees” because each female bee is
her own queen and she lays eggs in her own nest without workers to help her.

Some scientists believe social insects are more vulnerable to disease
because of the crowded conditions in which they live. They make up for this
vulnerability with social behaviors such as grooming, collecting antibiotic
plant compounds and removing diseased individuals from the nest.

Honey bees have a reduced immune system when compared to some other insects;
this may be because honey bees are social insects with these special
behaviors. However, this theory is difficult to prove because little is
known about the immune response of solitary bees, and because solitary bees
exhibit some of these same behaviors.

ARS entomologist Rosalind
James<http://www.ars.usda.gov/pandp/people/people.htm?personid=2760>and
colleague Junhuan Xu, formerly with Utah
State University <http://www.usu.edu/>, identified 116 immunity-related
genes from both healthy and infected larvae of the alfalfa leafcutting bee (
*Megachile rotundata*), a solitary bee that is a major pollinator of alfalfa
used to feed livestock. They then compared the genes to those found in honey
bees and other insects with similar gene sequences, such as the fruit fly
and the mosquito.

The immunity-related genes found in the alfalfa leafcutting bee are involved
in a variety of functions including cell rescue and cell defense. Similar to
the honey bee, the scientists found the alfalfa leafcutting bee to have
fewer immune response pathways than have previously been found in other
insects.

According to James, who is also research leader of the ARS Pollinating
Insects Research
Unit<http://www.ars.usda.gov/main/site_main.htm?modecode=54-28-05-00>in
Logan, Utah, these findings provide a foundation to better understand
how
bees defend themselves against disease.


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