A team of University of Alberta students are hoping to market a probiotic they created to help honeybees ward off a fungal infection that has wiped out entire hives.
APIS, short for “antifungal porphyrin-based intervention system,” uses genetically engineered E. coli bacteria to produce molecules called porphyrins that damage the spores of Nosema ceranae, the most widespread fungus infecting honeybees around the world.
Beekeepers can feed the product to their hives to help eliminate the fungus in the bees’ digestive systems.
The students created the product as a project for the 2018 International Genetically Engineered Machine (iGEM) Competition that took place in Boston last October, where they won first prize and a gold medal in the food and nutrition category.
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Image via University of Alberta.