Vuong Paton, Griffiths Anna Poppy, Barbour Elizabeth, Kaur Parwinder
UWA School of Agriculture & Environment, University of Western Australia, Perth, Australia.
NPJ Biodivers. 2024 Apr 17;3(1):8. doi: 10.1038/s44185-024-00040-y.
Approximately 1.8 million metric tonnes of honey are produced globally every year. The key source behind this output, the honey bee (Apis mellifera), works tirelessly to create the delicious condiment that is consumed worldwide. The honey that finds its way into jars on store shelves contains a myriad of information about its biogeographical origins, such as the bees that produced it, the botanical constituents, and traces of other organisms or pathogens that have come in contact with the product or its producer. With the ongoing threat of honey bee decline and overall global biodiversity loss, access to ecological information has become an key factor in preventing the loss of species. This review delves into the various molecular techniques developed to characterize the collective DNA harnessed within honey samples, and how it can be used to elucidate the ecological interactions between honey bees and the environment. We also explore how these DNA-based methods can be used for large-scale biogeographical studies through the environmental DNA collected by foraging honey bees. Further development of these techniques can assist in the conservation of biodiversity by detecting ecosystem perturbations, with the potential to be expanded towards other critical flying pollinators.
全球每年大约生产180万公吨蜂蜜。这一产量背后的关键来源——蜜蜂（西方蜜蜂）不知疲倦地酿造出这种在全球范围内被食用的美味调味品。进入商店货架上罐子中的蜂蜜包含了关于其生物地理起源的大量信息，比如生产它的蜜蜂、植物成分，以及与该产品或其生产者接触过的其他生物体或病原体的痕迹。随着蜜蜂数量持续减少以及全球生物多样性总体丧失的威胁，获取生态信息已成为防止物种丧失的关键因素。本综述深入探讨了为表征蜂蜜样本中所含的集体DNA而开发的各种分子技术，以及如何利用这些技术阐明蜜蜂与环境之间的生态相互作用。我们还探讨了如何通过觅食蜜蜂收集的环境DNA，将这些基于DNA的方法用于大规模生物地理研究。这些技术的进一步发展可以通过检测生态系统扰动来协助生物多样性保护，并且有可能扩展到其他重要的飞行传粉者。
