Team:Toulouse
"If the bee disappeared off the surface of the globe then man would only have four years of life left.
No more bees, no more pollination, no more plants, no more animals, no more man."
The bee Apis mellifera is the most efficient and widespread honey producing bee species. It is particularly affected by the mite Varroa destructor, which is the second cause of death for european bees. Indeed, according to beekeepers, up to 50 % of the swarms are lost every year, partly because of these parasites, causing tremendous economic damages to beekeepers.
This year, our team is committed to preserving honeybees by fighting these mites. The aim of our project is to work out a bacterium capable of baiting and eliminating the parasite by using the tools offered by synthetic biology. Our bacteria, named ApiColi, will be safely placed in a trap and will express alternatively an attractant and a poison for the Varroa destructor, in agreement with the honeybee life cycle. We hope that our concept will help reduce the decrease in bee populations and its disastrous consequences.
