Honeybees Naturally Vaccinate Their Babies with Their Blood

Bees may be able to naturally vaccinate their offspring. Scientists have found out how bees naturally immunize their babies by studying  a bee blood protein called vitellogenin.

"The process by which bees transfer immunity to their babies was a big mystery until now," said Gro Amdam, co-author of the new study, in a news release. "What we found is that it's as simple as eating. Our amazing discovery was made possible because of 15 years of basic research on vitellogenin. This exemplifies how long-term investments in basic research pay off."

In a honey bee colony, the queen rarely leaves the nest. This means that worker bees bring food to her after foraging. Unfortunately, these foragers can pick up pathogens from the environment and bring them back to the hive. These pathogens may then be digested by the queen and stored in the queen's "fat body," which is an organ similar to the liver.

Yet this particular incident isn't a bad thing. Pieces of the bacteria are bound to vitellogenin, which is a protein, and then carried via blood to the developing eggs in the queen. This causes the bee babies to be "vaccinated," and their immune systems are better able to handle disease.

Although bees vaccinate their babies against some diseases, many pathogens are deadly and the insects are unable to fight them. Now that the researchers know how bees vaccinate their offspring, though, scientists may be able to use this to create the first edible vaccine for insects.

Diseases, such as the American Foul Brood, can spread quickly and destroy hives. Developing a vaccine may help bee colonies survive and thrive, fulfilling their important role in the ecosystem.

The findings are published in the journal PLOS Pathogens.

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