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Informed Discussion of Beekeeping Issues and Bee Biology

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From:
Christina Wahl <[log in to unmask]>
Reply To:
Informed Discussion of Beekeeping Issues and Bee Biology <[log in to unmask]>
Date:
Thu, 19 Sep 2013 12:33:35 +0000
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It doesn't matter if Nosema is a protozoan or a fungus, if you are thinking about the use of fumagillin.

Fumagillin inhibits protein metabolism and is part of a fundamental pathway that works in most, if not all organisms.  It's being looked at for treating some kinds of cancer because, since it inhibits protein metabolism, it will inhibit angiogenesis, and it is also being studied for potential therapeutic value in treating rheumatoid arthritis.

Well, bees don't have blood vessels, per se, but fumagillin is probably not very good for bees, either, due to its mode of action vis-a-vis proteins (it inhibits the enzyme MetAP, that catalyzes N-terminal removal from peptides).  Since dosages for individual bees in beehives are difficult (impossible?!?) to control, I would guess that fumagillin kills bees as well as Nosema organisms.

I'm not sure how you arrived at that KEGG pathway?  That one is about phagocytosis, perhaps it is part of somebody's thinking about how to prevent Nosema from infecting cells.  However, it is my understanding that Nosema infects cells by another mechanism than through phagocytosis, (see Randy's article at http://scientificbeekeeping.com/the-nosema-twins-part-1/) so I'm unclear.

As far as a diagram goes (although most of them are worse than the written explanations IMO!) there's one that outlines how the MetAPs work (remember that fumagillin inhibits the MetAPs):

http://origin-ars.els-cdn.com/content/image/1-s2.0-S1074552109000374-gr3.jpg

Christina

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