Location: Bee Research Laboratory
Project Number: 8042-21000-291-047-S
Project Type: Non-Assistance Cooperative Agreement
Start Date: Jul 1, 2021
End Date: Feb 28, 2026
Objective:
Cooperator will sequence and conduct bioinformatics analysis of U.S. bee species. Specific objectives include: 1) Sequence the genomes of 35 bee species. 2) Determine miRNA regulation of lipid loss in honey bees. 3) Use CRISPR to study honey bee biology and health during "prenatal" development.
Approach:
There are 4,000 bee species in the United States, many of interest to agriculture, and all of interest to biodiversity. In support of efforts to ensure pollination of crops and plants in our natural ecosystems, and sharing the goal of the Earth BioGenome Project to sequence the genomes of all plants, animals, insects, and fungi, ARS and the Cooperator will sequence bee genomes to international standards and use bioinformatics approaches to glean useful information needed to safeguard the Nation's pollinators.
