“Just like humans, bees get viruses too,” says Dr. Nicholas Oberlies, who was recently awarded a grant from the USDA Agricultural Research Service to study natural compounds that could help prevent viral infections in honeybees. “Deformed wing virus, for example, leads to bees that are non-productive and eliminated from the hive. It is considered a driver of colony collapse and could be a key reason why there is so much mortality (nearly 40%) in honeybee hives over the winter, and we’re seeking compounds from Nature that can be used to help prevent this.”
Honeybees are essential agricultural pollinators. According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, they pollinate approximately $15 billion worth of crops in the United States each year, including more than 130 types of fruits, nuts, and vegetables. However, honeybee populations are facing significant declines, with viral pathogens recognized as a major contributing factor.
The Oberlies Lab typically focuses on human health challenges, including anticancer and antibiotic drug discovery. This project, however, takes the lab in a new direction by applying its expertise in natural products chemistry to the study of deformed wing virus, one of the most serious threats to honeybee health. “On a personal level, I like working on an idea that could have a very applied outcome, such as improving the health of honeybees and thus improving their ability to pollinate our foods.”
Dr. Oberlies will conduct the project in collaboration with Dr. Vincent Ricigliano, a researcher with the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
“It’s a long story how we first started collaborating. In the early stages, we were examining honeybee nutrition (which is also a major problem for honeybees). Basically, we studied the chemical composition of artificial diets that he was designing to improve honeybee health, particularly at times where pollen is in short supply. Through those discussions, we also learned of bioassays he was developing that could be used to evaluate if a compound could target deformed wing virus in cell culture. A neat aspect is that positive results in vitro can then be tested in vivo in his lab (i.e., testing against live honeybees). In my world of drug discovery in natural products chemistry, it often takes many years to get to a point where you can test something in an animal model, like a mouse. Working with Dr. Ricigliano, we can quickly go from a basic science observation to testing in live bees.”
By combining expertise in natural products chemistry and honeybee nutrition the project aims to identify compounds that could help protect honeybees from viral disease. The research highlights how fundamental scientific discoveries can be applied to address real-world challenges, supporting pollinator health and the agricultural systems that depend on it.
