Science AMA Series: We are Dr. May Berenbaum and Dr. Gene Robinson, University of Illinois entomologists. Our genomic research efforts go together like bees and honey, and we’re here for some sweet science discussion for Valentine’s Day! AUA!

See the source article by following the link below:

We are two scientists who are fascinated by honey bees: their complex social lives, their collective ability to adapt to environmental challenges, their sophisticated cognitive abilities, and the vital role they play in agriculture and food production. We also share a common experimental approach: exploring the biology of honey bees and other insects by studying their genomes. The genome has also helped us learn the many roles that honey, the food that bees make from the nectar they collect from flowers, plays in the complex lives of honey bees.

Genomes have led to a definitive answer to the historic nature vs. nurture debate. Effects of nature and nurture interact with each other by influencing genome functions. By sequencing the honey bee genome (http://ift.tt/2ksoSP6) and studying its activity, we are learning more about how honey bees develop, behave, learn, and adapt; by sequencing the genomes of related species (http://ift.tt/1ytvsVd), we’ve identified new hypotheses for how social living evolved in bees.

In Dr. Robinson’s lab, we have discovered how the responsiveness of the genome in honey bee brain cells relates to the ability of bees to adjust their behavior to their physical and social environment, and therefore contribute to the colony’s ability to be robust to challenges (http://ift.tt/2kswnpf). We’ve also demonstrated how stress in early life, by acting through the genome, has a long-term impact on behavior (http://ift.tt/2lfv1SL).

In Dr. Berenbaum’s lab, we’ve overturned the idea that honey is just a source of calories. We’ve shown that some components of honey that come from nectar and pollen increase the activity of genes that code for proteins that break down environmental toxins such as pesticides and help fight bacterial pathogens (http://ift.tt/2ksBGoR). We’ve also discovered that chemicals in honey and pollen, when fed to an immature bee, can influence whether she grows up to be a queen or a worker (http://ift.tt/1hlA3I2) Using tools made possible by genome sequencing, we’ve investigated potential contributions of different factors to Colony Collapse Disorder (http://ift.tt/2ksplkt) and developed molecular models to predict which pesticides are likely to be toxic to bees.

You can learn more about Dr. Robinson here:

http://ift.tt/2lfjkvz http://ift.tt/2ksB961

And more about Dr. Berenbaum here:

http://ift.tt/2lfe8rD

We will be here at 2 PM EST to answer your questions, ask us anything!

">Science AMA Series: We are Dr. May Berenbaum and Dr. Gene Robinson, University of Illinois entomologists. Our genomic research efforts go together like bees and honey, and we’re here for some sweet science discussion for Valentine’s Day! AUA!