Towards precision nutrition, a novel concept linking phytochemicals, immune response and honey bee health

PEDRO NEGRI ; ETHEL VILLALOBOS; NICOLÁS SZAWARSKI; NATALIA DAMIANI; LIESEL GENDE; MELISA GARRIDO; MATÍAS MAGGI; SILVINA QUINTANA; LORENZO LAMATTINA; MARTIN EGUARAS

Insects

American Association of Professional Apiculturists (AAPA)

Año: 2019

2075-4450

The high annual losses of managed honey bees (Apis mellifera) has attracted intensive attention and scientists have dedicated much effort trying to identify the stresses affecting bees. There are, however, no simple answers, rather research suggest multifactorial effects. Several works have been reported highlighting the relationship between bees? immunosuppression and the effects of malnutrition, parasites, pathogens, agrochemical and beekeeping pesticides exposure, forage dearth and cold stress. Here, we analyzed a possible connection between immunity-related signaling pathways that could be involved in the response to the stress resulted from Varroa-virus association and cold stress during winter. The analysis was made understanding the honey bee as a superorganism, where individuals are integrated and interacting within the colony, going from social to individual immune responses. We propose the term ?Precision Nutrition? as a way to think and study bees? nutrition in the search for key molecules able to strength colonies? responses to any or all those stresses combined.