Essential sterols from engineered yeast prevent honeybee colony population decline

Abstract

Honeybees, the worlds most important crop pollinators, are increasingly facing pollen starvation arising from agricultural intensification and climate change. Frequent flowering dearth periods and high-density rearing conditions weaken colonies, often leading to their demise. Beekeepers provide colonies with pollen substitutes, but these feeds cannot sustain brood production because they lack essential sterols found in pollen. Here, we describe a technological breakthrough in honeybee nutrition with wide-reaching impacts on global food security. We first measured the quantity and proportion of sterols found in honeybee tissues. Using this information, we genetically engineered a strain of the oleaginous yeast, Yarrowia lipolytica, to produce a mixture of essential sterols for bees and incorporated it into an otherwise nutritionally complete diet. Colonies fed exclusively with this diet reared brood for significantly longer than those fed diets without suitable sterols. Incorporating sterol supplements into pollen substitutes using this method will enable beekeepers to rear healthier, longer-lived colonies to meet the growing demands for global crop pollination. It could also reduce competition between bee species for access to natural floral resources, stemming the decline of wild bee populations.