Betting on bee breakthrough

A small team of Wellington-based scientists are doing their part to help solve some of the woes facing honey bees.

For the past few years they have been looking at ways to deal with the Varroa mite, which was discovered in New Zealand back in 2000.

Project leader and Victoria University Professor, Phil Lester, from the School of Biological Science, had previously been using bees as a model organism for studying disease but had shifted his focus to the role beneficial bacteria could play in fighting viruses.

His principal virus target was the ‘‘Deformed wing virus’’ that he said appeared to be the partner-in-crime with Varroa mites.

While the research had been a slow process, Lester said his team now had both the virus and the bacteria on campus, along with three hives full of bees ready to be tested.

‘‘We will inject the bee embryos with the bacteria and culture the eggs all the way through to the lava stage then challenge them with the virus.’’

He hoped the bacteria would inhibit the virus and cripple the parasite and its effects on bees.

While the approach was new for honey bees, Lester said it has been successfully used by an Australian research team using mosquitoes to block the virus causing Dengue fever in humans.

The project is being funded through the Royal Society of New Zealand who awarded Lester the James Cook Research Fellowship two years ago.

The rest of his team included student Jessica Russell as well as Dr James Baty from the Malaghan Institute, a research partnership which Lester said had been mutually beneficial.

‘‘They have some fantastic equipment and expertise on them. With our beehives, our ecology and their immunology and skills, it’s a really good combination.’’

The bacteria being used had come from flies and Lester was confident he now knew the right amount to inject into the honey bee eggs.

‘‘Things are looking positive, I’m hopeful but whether it works or not is another situation.’’