BOLOGNA (ITALPRESS) – Knowing and conserving the biodiversity of Italian bees and guaranteeing the quality and traceability of their honey thanks to innovative DNA analysis techniques. The University of Bologna celebrates World Bee Day with the new BEE-RER-2 research project, funded by the Emilia-Romagna Region and implemented in collaboration with beekeepers’ associations and regional beekeeping organizations. At the heart of the new BEE-RER-2 project is the reconstruction of the complete bee genome and the development of new approaches for analyzing the DNA of honey, to discover the traces left by the bees that produced it. “Today bees are threatened by climate change and pollutants, including various pesticides, which negatively impact their biology. These phenomena in turn have a negative impact on biodiversity and favor the spread of pathogens and new enemies of bees” , explains Luca Fontanesi, professor at the Department of Agro-Food Sciences and Technologies at the University of Bologna who coordinates the project. To answer these problems, BEE-RER-2 researchers will apply new DNA analysis technologies that allow to completely sequence the bee genome and thus decode the biodiversity of Apis mellifera ligustica, the Italian bee. The researchers have in fact succeeded in developing a method that allows to analyze the genome of the bee through the traces of its DNA found in honey: in this way it will be possible to evaluate the biodiversity of the bee populations present in Emilia-Romagna. “Honey contains environmental DNA, that is, the one that derives from all the organisms that directly or indirectly came into contact with honey along its formation path, from the plant nectar to its packaging. These traces allow us to trace back to a large number of important information that we have just begun to decode “, explains Fontanesi. The analysis of the DNA present in honey will also allow us to identify its botanical origin. With a double objective: on the one hand to monitor the presence of pathogens dangerous for bees and on the other to start a process of valorisation of regional honey. In this way, it will be possible to develop new systems for the control and certification of Italian honey and to combat the worryingly growing phenomenon of counterfeiting and fraud linked to the world trade in honey. (ITALPRESS). ads / com 19-May-21 18:09
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