The Hyphal Tip: Fungal Genomes and Comparative Genomics

An early access to article in Science A Metagenomic Survey of Microbes in Honey Bee Colony Collapse Disorder (direct link since DOI is not updated yet) using the current favorite buzzword, metagenomics, of course, describes some early work to try and discover what is killing the honeybees.

I read this blurb in the New Scientist about a PNAS paper (subscription required for next 6 months) on how hive beetles (Aethina tumida) are able to infest bee hives by throwing off the bees because they are producing isopentyl acetate which is thought to be produced and used by bees to signal an alarm.

I don't know if you've heard, but bee colonies are disappearing! Colony collapse disorder, as this phenomenon is better known, worries bee-keepers, agriculturalists and insect admirers all over: over 25% of the commerical bee colonies have disappeared since last fall. Normally, when a commerical hive collapses, honey is left behind in the box and wild bees set up shop on top of this free resource.

The Baylor sequencing center has published the genome of two honey bee pathogens. Bayolor and collaborators recently published a slew of honey bee genome papers and it is great that they have also chosen to follow up on the parasites as well.