JANUARY 2018• COUNTRY LIFE IN BC


45


Cutting-edge technology could hold key to vanquishing varroa mites Monsanto a bee-leader in improving colony health


by MYRNA STARK LEADER KELOWNA – When Jerry


Hayes, the honeybee health lead for Monsanto, took to the stage as one of three keynote speakers at the Bee Better 2017 BC Honey Producers Association AGM and conference, the capacity crowd of approximately 260 fell silent. When he asked how many loved Monsanto, few raised their hands, although others commented afterwards that they support what the company is doing. Hayes is no stranger to the bee industry and from 2004 to 2012 was Florida’s chief apiary inspector. His responsibilities included regulating the health of the state’s 350,000 colonies. When the opportunity came to join Monsanto in 2012, Hayes didn’t take it lightly. Ultimately, he accepted because Monsanto has the dollars, equipment and commitment needed to do something to help honeybees. Monsanto had recently


acquired Beeologics Inc., an Israeli company that saw the potential of RNA interference (RNAi) to address Israeli acute paralysis virus in bees. It was also forging partnerships with other companies exploring the potential of RNAi. RNAi is a gene-silencing technology that the major crop science companies see as a way to fight plant diseases without the use of chemicals. Monsanto quickly latched onto it to develop an alternative to its existing Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt)- based antimicrobial sprays that were among the first wave of genetically engineered products. Gene silencing is also key to the non-browning Arctic-brand


Attract PollinaAttrac Pollina


apples Okanagan Specialty Fruits Inc. of Summerland has developed. Monsanto began


researching the potential of RNAi to improve bee health and the pollination of its customers’ crops, Hayes explained. It created a honeybee advisory council focused on finding solutions to varroa mites and the viruses they carry. “We use RNA technology


to control these by silencing a gene that is specific to varroa,” he said.


The bees ingest a syrup laced with RNA coded to attack the mitochondrial RNA in the varroa mites. Since the bee has different genes, its own genetic material isn’t attacked. When a mite attacks the bee, it ingests the coded RNA and the expression of the genetic material that govern its fundamental life processes are altered and it dies.


Pricey research


St. Louis-based Hayes says no one else in the world is doing this research because it’s expensive. Monsanto sampled 6,000 colonies last year. “Monsanto is spending about $1 million a year on this project,” he explained, adding that the company is working with beekeepers and other partners because no one accomplishes anything alone. Today, there’s enough data


to move the project forward. “We’re going to enter what they call the regulatory stream,” he said. “The [US Environmental Protection Agency] will review all of our data and ask for more data so that we can put together an actual product with a label.” If all goes well, Hayes estimates it will still be three


nators to Your Fa ators to Your Farm arm What is RNAi?


RNA interference is a phenomenon first recognized in the early 1990s by flower breeders who saw its potential to modify the expression of pigmentation. It leapt to


prominence in 2003 when Fortune magazine hailed it as “Biotech’s Billion- Dollar Breakthrough” and gained international recognition in 2006 when researchers Andrew Fire and Craig C. Mello won the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for their investigations of it. The interference typically involves the inhibition or silencing of specific genes.


Genes produce RNA – ribonucleic acid – which performs a variety of functions, including the delivery of genetic information that triggers biological reactions and regulates gene expression. Viruses often have genetic information encoded in RNA,


making RNAi a potential means of addressing some diseases. Rather than fight diseases with pharmaceuticals or other materials, RNAi offers what many companies tout as a cleaner, more natural means of improving the health of organisms. —Peter Mitham


to four years until a product is ready for consumers. He’s


confident that Bayer’s acquisition of Monsanto, set to close early in 2018, won’t delay the work. “Bayer


has also been interested in honeybee health so we’re thinking there should be no stop in any of this,” Hayes said.


JERRY HAYES


What’s the point? Hayes is unsure how good


any new product will be, however. “Where it fits into the


scheme of varroa control right now, I can’t answer that,” he said. “We’re


doing the best we can.”


And


whether beekeepers accept a Monsanto or Bayer product is still to be seen but he thinks the involvement


of the large ag science companies is an important contribution to a solution. “I joined Monsanto because we’ve been talking about varroa mites for 30 years and the only thing that beekeepers are given is pesticides,” he said. “I think we


should focus on new technologies that cannot only help honeybees but also other agricultural pests and human health and livestock and everything else.” When asked by an audience member what’s next, Hayes says he looks forward to continuing to educate growers all over the world about bees and bee health. To date, he’s helped raise awareness of bee health when the company is pursuing new crop treatments and he’s taken the company’s CEO to open new colonies. The company’s honeybee club has 250 members. “I don’t want everyone to go out and hug a honeybee, but I do want everyone to be grateful for honeybees and beekeepers and their connection to production agriculture and the environment because it’s an amazing system.”


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