|
PAm Now Funding RNAi Technology at U of FL |
|
PAm is excited to be a part of cutting-edge science by funding research using RNAi technology. Dr. James Ellis, Assistant Professor of Entomolgy at the University of Florida in Gainesville, will oversee the project. The goal of the project is to develop an effective and safe control method for varroa mites in honey bees. Research for alternative mite control is needed as current varroa control measures are unsustainable. The use of chemicals is labor intensive and expensive, mites become resistant, and results of sublethal miticide exposure suggest that the chemicals used to help honey bees are in reality harming them. Dr. Ellis and his team will explore the use of RNA interference (RNAi) technology to specifically interfere with varroa mite biochemical pathways. The goal of the project is to develop silencing technology for targeted genes in varroa mites and determining if the resulting dsRNA complexes increase varroa mortality. This treatment method is considered a "natural" anti-agent defense system in the host organism. The resulting varroacide treatment would be similiar to the costs we now see associated with existing varroa treatments making it affordable to beekeepers. As varroa continues to be one of the leading killers of honey bees, PAm is proud to be part of this innovative project and to be a part of this promising new technology.
|