>
>
> >. But where are Beeologics and the RNAi cures? -- that's what I'd like to
> know.
>

RNAi was a new and exciting technology back when Israeli scientist Nitzan
Paldi formed the startup Beeologics.  They soon brought me in to run field
trials, and I worked with both Beeologics and later in a different RNAi
startup founded by Nitzan. Beeologics was going for the low-hanging fruit
-- using RNAi to fight a virus.  Insects naturally use RNAi to fight
viruses, so it was simply triggering a completely natural immune response,
and the field results looked promising.

At that point, a startup looks for a buyer, so that the venture capitalists
who funded the startup could see a return on their long-shot investment.
They (not Nitzan) found Monsanto, which was interested not in Beeologics'
patent or honey bees, but rather in their proprietary method for producing
inexpensive dsRNA.  And that was for use in developing RNAi products to
replace chemical insecticides on major crops such as corn or soy.  Monsanto
continued with the honey bee aspect, largely for show, since the market for
any beekeeping product was minuscule, compared to plant-protection products.

And Monsanto, over our objections, made the decision to drop the antiviral
development, and instead shoot for an anti-varroa product.  This was a bold
and challenging jump.  One big issue was "delivery" -- how to get enough
dsRNA into the mite to kill it.  We at Beeologics held think sessions to
try to figure out a method, since mites don't consume products placed into
the hive, but we were misled, thinking that we'd need to get the dsRNA into
the bee's tissues first.

Someone at Monsanto had a brilliant flash of insight -- a foundress mite
buries herself in the jelly at the end of a cell.  And the nurse bees add
some nectar to that jelly.  So if you fed the dsRNA in syrup, the nurses
would not digest it, but rather disgorge it undigested from their crops
into the jelly.  And the foundress mites would be exposed while in that
jelly.  Brilliant!

Bayer continued development when it purchased Monsanto.  The method works,
but not as efficaciously as they hoped.  I can't say more, due to
confidentiality.  There was a very good presentation by Bayer at Apimondia.

Nitzan left Monsanto, but was excluded from working with honey bees.  So he
created another startup, and hired me as one of the scientists involved.  I
built two labs for the mass production of the bacteria-infected psyllids
that cause disease in potatoes and tomatoes, using the plants and pathogens
as proxies for citrus greening disease, which is the major problem for
citrus worldwide.  I was raising hundreds of tomato and potato plants
indoors every week, as well as thousands of psyllids.  We ran very
expensive controlled indoor experiments, with our molecular biologists
analyzing the samples.  It was very exciting!

We also set up shop in Brazil, and have a paper coming out in the journal
Lancet about successfully using RNAi to reduce the populations of the
mosquitoes that cause dengue and yellow fevers, and Zika virus.

We were racing Monsanto to develop RNAi to replace chemical pesticides on
crops, since dsRNA very rapidly degrades in the environment, and doesn't
appear to be a threat to other species.  So despite the shaming of Monsanto
by some, the company was trying to develop more eco-friendly products.

 But we hit the same wall as did others -- "delivery."  How to get the
dsRNA through the plant cuticle and into its tissue?  We tried like hell,
and were about to build yet another rearing facility on my property, when
the funders gave up on the gamble and cut off funds.  One phone call to
tell us to pull the plug -- we were out of a job, right in the middle of a
large experiment.

I closed the doors and I hired my lab assistant to help me with bee
research (she's now pursuing a PhD).  I donated my rearing cages to a
university.  And I'm now using the backup generator for the labs to keep my
freezers running when PG&E cuts off our power in order to teach us a lesson
about suing them for wildfires.

RNAi still has great promise, Pete.  As with any fixed product, we can
expect pests to eventually evolve resistance.  But RNAi has potential to be
part of any integrated pest management in the future.  It's just not as
easy as we hoped.

-- 
Randy Oliver
Grass Valley, CA
www.ScientificBeekeeping.com

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