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Steve Sheppard and his team provide the mushroom extract to a colony of bees as part of their experiment. The bees that received the extract showed a significant decrease in viral infections in a few days. Credit: Scott Weybright, Washington State University
A honey bee-fed mushroom extract dramatically reduces virus levels, according to a new article published by scientists at Washington State University, the USDA and colleagues at Olympia-based Fungi Perfecti , Washington.
In field trials, colonies receiving mycelium extract from tinder and reishi fungi exhibited a 79-fold reduction in deformed wing virus and a 45,000-fold reduction in Lake Sinai virus relative to to control colonies.
Although it is at the very beginning of its development, researchers see a huge potential in this research.
"Our greatest hope is that these extracts have such an impact on viruses that they can help Varroa mites become a nuisance to bees, rather than cause tremendous devastation," said Steve Sheppard, professor of Entomology at the WSU and one of the authors of the document. "We are eager to see where this research will lead us – time is running out for bee populations and the world's food supply security depends on our ability to find ways to improve the health of pollinators."
The research was published in the journal Scientific reports.
The hope is that the results of this research will help reduce honeybee colonies to fight viruses, which are known to play a role in the collapse disorder of colonies.
"One of the main ways that varroa mites hurt bees is the spread and amplification of viruses," Sheppard said. "The mites really exert a stress on the immune system of bees, making them more vulnerable to viruses that shorten the life of worker bees."
This is the first research article resulting from a partnership between Sheppard's laboratory and Fungi Perfecti. Their co-owner and founder, Paul Stamets, is a co-author of the paper.
"Paul already worked on a project that demonstrated the antiviral properties of mycelium extracts on human cells," Sheppard said. "He read about viruses that injure bees and urged us to explore the use of bee extracts.After two years, we have demonstrated that these antiviral properties extend to bees."
Stamets is passionate about the many benefits of mushrooms, both for humans and for wildlife. And he appreciates this partnership with Sheppard and his lab.
"It's a great example of a connection between two areas of biological science," Stamets said. "I'm excited about new discoveries and opportunities, and for me, the best of science is when it's used for practical solutions.Our team is honored to work with WSU researchers and can not wait to continue collaboration."
Steve Sheppard and his team provide the mushroom extract to a colony of bees as part of their experiment. The bees that received the extract showed a significant decrease in viral infections in a few days. Credit: Scott Weybright, Washington State University
Limited supplies
At present, the mycelium extract is not available in the levels that beekeepers can buy for their hives.
"We are accelerating the production of extracts as quickly as possible, given the obstacles we have to overcome to deploy it on a large scale," added Stamets. "Those who wish to be kept informed can sign up for more information on http://www.fungi.com."
Sheppard said he and his colleagues plan to do more work to refine the now-published results. In this way, beekeepers will have the best information when stocks become available.
"We do not know if the mycelium enhances the immune system of bees or actually fights viruses," Sheppard said. "We are working to solve this problem, while testing larger settlement groups to develop best management practices and determine the amount of extract to use and when to have the best impact."
Mites and viruses
Over the past decade, beekeepers have seen a disastrous decline in the health of honey bee colonies, often resulting in an average loss of more than 30% per year. Varroa mites and the viruses they proliferate play a major role in these losses. The deformed wing virus, which causes shriveled wings on bees, significantly reduces the life span of worker bees.
The Sinai Lake virus is also associated with varroa mites and is widespread in bee colonies around the United States. Although the virus has no obvious or obvious symptoms, it is important to fight this virus because it has been found at higher levels in bees from collapsing colonies. It is closely related to the chronic bee paralysis virus and probably makes bees sick and weak, according to WSU Research Assistant Professor Brandon Hopkins.
Treat with mushrooms
The bee colonies treated in this experiment received oral treatment of mycelium extracts in dozens of small WSU bee colonies infested with varroa mites.
"It's a really easy treatment to apply," Sheppard said. "After following larger colonies for a full year, we can develop recommendations on how to use the extracts, and then Fungi Perfecti is expected to increase production."
There is currently no timetable for when the extract would be available on a scale large enough for beekeepers.
Explore further:
New ideas on how bees fight deadly varroa by grooming themselves
More information:
Paul E. Stamets et al., Polypore mushroom mycelium extracts reduce viruses in honey bees, Scientific reports (2018). DOI: 10.1038 / s41598-018-32194-8
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