* RNA breakdown is an indicator of apoptosis or programmed cell death.  
This could be triggered by viral load, causing suicidal like symptoms  
in honey bee colonies. However, other factors can also trigger  
apoptosis or premature aging and death. As Dr. Berenbaum says herself,  
they may have the bullet hole, but they don't have the gun or the  
shooter.

 > Programmed cell death is a fundamental process of development and  
tissue homeostasis in multicellular organisms. The most prevalent form  
is a biochemical and morphological process called apoptosis, an active  
process by which cells carry out their own death by activating an  
internal suicide program.

 > A number of different stimuli are known to induce apoptosis,  
including glucocorticoids, DNA damage, growth factor withdrawal, viral  
and bacterial infection, and oxidative stress.
 > Studies on adaptation to oxidative stress have suggested an  
association of the degradation of an unknown RNA species with  
apoptosis.  We have hypothesized that degradation of this RNA may  
represent an indicator of apoptosis.


"16S Mitochondrial Ribosomal RNA Degradation Is Associated with  
Apoptosis"
Dana R Crawford, et al

Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology,

The Albany Medical College, Albany, NY 12208, USA

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