Consuming sunflower pollen reduced pathogen infection but did not alter measures of immunity in bumblebees.

ABSTRACT: Certain diets can benefit bee health by reducing pathogens, but the mechanism(s) driving these medicinal effects are largely unexplored. Recent research found that sunflower (Helianthus annuus) pollen reduces the gut pathogen Crithidia bombi in the common eastern bumblebee (Bombus impatiens). Here, we tested the effects of sunflower pollen and infection on two bee immune metrics to determine whether sunflower pollen diet drives changes in host immunity that can explain this medicinal effect. Bees were infected with C. bombi or not and given either sunflower or wildflower pollen. Subsequently, bees received a benign immune challenge or were left naive to test the induced and constitutive immune responses, respectively. We measured haemolymph phenoloxidase activit

SUBMITTER: Fowler AE 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9058531 | biostudies-literature | 2022 Jun

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature