Empirical, Metagenomic, and Computational Techniques Illuminate the Mechanisms by which Fungicides Compromise Bee HealthShawn A. Steffan 1,2, Prarthana S. Dharampal 2, Luis Diaz-Garcia 3,4, Cameron R. Currie 5, Juan Zalapa 1,3, Chris Todd Hittinger 6,7,8
1Vegetable Crop Research Unit, USDA-ARS, 2Department of Entomology, University of Wisconsin-Madison, 3Department of Horticulture, University of Wisconsin-Madison, 4Instituto Nacional de Investigaciones Forestales, Agricolas y Pecuarias, 5Department of Bacteriology, University of Wisconsin-Madison, 6Laboratory of Genetics, Genome Center of Wisconsin, 7DOE Great Lakes Bioenergy Research Center, Wisconsin Energy Institute, 8J.F. Crow Institute for the Study of Evolution, University of Wisconsin-Madison
Microbial consortia within bumble bee hives enrich and preserve pollen for bee larvae. Using next generation sequencing, along with laboratory and field-based experiments, this manuscript describes protocols used to test the hypothesis that fungicide residues alter the pollen microbiome, and colony demographics, ultimately leading to colony loss.
