Scientists engineered a strain of yeast, Yarrowia lipolytica, to produce sterols missing from artificial pollen substitutes used by beekeepers. The supplement targets nutrient deficiencies that contribute to severe declines in bee populations alongside climate change, intensive farming, mite infestations, viral diseases and pesticides. Honeybees and wild bees contribute to the pollination of at least 70 percent of major global crops such as almonds, apples and cherries, so improving bee nutrition aims to bolster food security and biodiversity. Commercial supplements of protein flour, sugars and oils currently lack the necessary sterol compounds.
Scientists have devised a food supplement for bees that they say will have a wide-reaching effect on global food security. The experts say the yeast strain will help honeybees live longer as intensive farming and the climate crisis rob the insects of flowers and pollen. It is hoped the breakthrough will stem the decline in populations of wild bees, which are important pollinators. They help contribute to the production of at least 70 per cent of major global crops such as almonds, apples and cherries.
But severe declines caused by nutrient deficiencies, climate change, mite infestations, viral diseases and pesticides pose a significant threat to food security and biodiversity. The scientists in Oxford genetically engineered a strain of yeast called Yarrowia lipolytica to produce vital nutrients called sterols that are absent in the artificial pollen substitutes that beekeepers use. Commercial supplements, made of protein flour, sugars and oils, lack the right sterol compounds.
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