STTR Phase I: A Novel Biorational Approach to Curing Honey Bees

STTR 第一阶段：一种新的生物理性治疗蜜蜂方法

• 批准号: 2152247
• 负责人: Jessica Lewis
• 金额: $ 27.4万
• 依托单位: BEEKEEPING 101 LLC
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2023
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2023-10-01 至 2024-09-30
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=2152247&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: STTR; Phase; Novel; Biorational; Approach

The broader impact of this Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) Phase I project is to enhance honey bee health and hence crop production through the development of a biological treatment for Varroa destructor mite, the greatest single cause of honey bee decline. All honey bee colonies in the U.S. (2.5 million) are infested with parasitic Varroa destructor mites which cause devastating colony loss due to the impact of the mite itself as well as the transfer of microbial diseases it carries. Currently, both commercial and hobbyist beekeepers must decide between losing a colony now to Varroa destructor infestation, or later to consequent pesticide effects. Bringing a safe and effective new biological-based product to the market will lower beekeeper’s annual spending as well as time and effort to keep their colonies alive by leaving honey bee colonies free from the devastating downstream effects of traditional pesticides. In addition, the solution paves the way for more biologicals to be developed and commercialized through the novel scientific approach and technological advancement proposed herein, essentially reducing the perceived risk. The proposed project seeks to bring to market a novel, biorational, scientific approach in pesticide management of Varroa destructor mite infestation. This biorational pesticide is designed to target a little bug (the mite) that lives on a big bug (the honey bee) without harming the bee. No pesticide has previously taken the biorational approach described herein, thus a variety of experiments are necessary to optimize manufacturing and administration methods as well as provide proof of concept prior to bringing this product to market. The specific aims include: 1) the development of efficient and cost-effective mass production methods through empirical testing of varying growth conditions, 2) testing of various administration methods, including, but not limited to, liquid- and powder-based methods that are scalable and end-user friendly for three different groups of beekeepers (commercial, sideline, and hobbyist honey beekeepers), and 3) additional mode of action experiments to solidify the “proof of concept” of the novel technological advancement, including an in-depth examination of the effect on honey bee heath. This technology will include developing administration methods suitable for warehouses containing hundreds of colonies.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.

该小企业技术转让 (STTR) 第一阶段项目的更广泛影响是通过开发针对瓦螨的生物处理方法来增强蜜蜂的健康，从而提高作物产量，瓦螨是蜜蜂数量下降的最大单一原因。在美国（250 万），有寄生瓦螨感染，由于螨本身的影响及其携带的微生物疾病的传播，造成毁灭性的群体损失。商业养蜂人和业余养蜂人都必须做出决定，是现在因瓦螨侵扰而失去蜂群，还是随后因农药的影响而失去蜂群，将安全有效的新型生物基产品推向市场将降低养蜂人的年度支出以及养蜂的时间和精力。通过使蜜蜂群体免受传统农药的破坏性下游影响，使他们的群体保持活力。此外，该解决方案为通过本文提出的新颖的科学方法和技术进步开发和商业化更多生物制品铺平了道路。该项目旨在从根本上降低感知风险，将一种新颖的、生物合理的科学方法推向市场，用于防治瓦螨侵扰。这种生物合理的农药旨在针对以大虫为生的小虫（螨）。以前没有农药采用本文所述的生物合理方法，因此需要进行各种实验来优化制造和施用方法，并在将该产品推向市场之前提供概念证明。目标包括：1) 通过对不同生长条件的实证测试，开发高效且具有成本效益的大规模生产方法，2) 测试各种给药方法，包括但不限于可扩展和可扩展的基于液体和粉末的方法。对三类不同的养蜂人（商业养蜂人、副业养蜂人和业余养蜂人）而言，最终用户友好，以及3）额外的行动实验模式，以巩固新颖技术进步的“概念验证”，包括深入研究效果该技术将包括开发适合包含数百个蜂群的仓库的管理方法。该奖项反映了 NSF 的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。