Helping Honey Bees NIFA grant funds OSU molecular genetics research into vital pollinators
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bustling laboratory at Oklahoma State University is trying to develop resources and genetic tools to assist scientists who are trying to understand why pollinators are in decline — especially honey bees. Honey bees and the beekeeping industry are responsible for more than $15 billion in annual agricultural productivity. They deliver indispensable pollination services that benefit more than 90 crops. Their increased death rates have been called one of the greatest threats to food production by industry analysts, scientists and environmental activists alike. Darren Hagen of OSU’s Division of Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources
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received a grant from the National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) in January to study the molecular genetics of honey bees. Molecular genetics focuses on the flow and regulation of genetic information between DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid), RNA (ribonucleic acid) and proteins. Think of Hagen’s charge as developing the building blocks that will make future scientific inquiries possible. Collaborators at the U.S. Department of Agriculture Agricultural Research Service Bee Laboratory in Maryland have been busy collecting biological material that will be used this fall to begin the genetic sequencing, he said.
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