A deeper understanding of system interactions can explain contradictory field results on pesticide impact on honey bees.

ABSTRACT: While there is widespread concern regarding the impact of pesticides on honey bees, well-replicated field experiments, to date, have failed to provide clear insights on pesticide effects. Here, we adopt a systems biology approach to gain insights into the web of interactions amongst the factors influencing honey bee health. We put the focus on the properties of the system that depend upon its architecture and not on the strength, often unknown, of each single interaction. Then we test in vivo, on caged honey bees, the predictions derived from this modelling analysis. We show that the impact of toxic compounds on honey bee health can be shaped by the concurrent stressors affecting bees. We demonstrate that the immune-suppressive capacity of the widespread pathogen of bees, deformed wing vir

SUBMITTER: Breda D 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9523045 | biostudies-literature | 2022 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature