To (Nosema) immunity and bee-yond! Uncovering the molecular secrets of survivor and managed honeybee immunity in response to Nosema ceranae

Nosema ceranae is a fungal spore parasite that affects honeybees and causes various symptoms, including diarrhea, fatigue, and even death. There are two genotypes of honeybees: managed, which are typically kept by commercial and hobbyist beekeepers, and survivor, which live without management in nature. It has been found that survivor bees are able to tolerate pathogens such as N. ceranae better than managed bees. The life cycle of N. ceranae germinates within the bee's midgut, which requires them to be alive. What happens when these spores are dead? Could they be used like a vaccine to help the honeybees defend against an infection before it actually occurs? There are three specific immune indicators that I am measuring: Vitellogenin, a lipoglycoprotein that is formed in the fat body and has immunological effects. Juvenile hormone, which controls what the honeybee’s task is at that time in its life, such as being a nurse or forager, and chitinase, an enzyme that breaks down chitin and also has been shown to be able to kill other species of Nosema and will be using this to help confirm the results of the other two hormone levels. In my research, I am investigating the immunocompetence of N. ceranae in survivor and managed honeybees after feeding them live and dead spores by measuring the quantities of vitellogenin, chitinase, and juvenile hormone in their hemolymph and confirming infection by measuring the spore counts in their midguts.