Oxford's Engineered Yeast 'Superfood' Boosts Bee Colonies 15x in Groundbreaking Study

Rahul Somvanshi

Climate change and agricultural practices have drastically reduced floral diversity, depriving bees of essential sterols found in pollen that they need for development and reproduction.

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"Current commercial pollen substitutes lack crucial compounds called sterols that bees need for development," explains lead researcher Dr. Elynor Moore.

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Using CRISPR-Cas9 gene editing, the team engineered Yarrowia lipolytica yeast to produce six specific sterols that dominate bee tissues: 24-methylenecholesterol, campesterol, isofucosterol, β-sitosterol, cholesterol, and desmosterol.

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The engineered yeast was grown in bioreactors, harvested, and dried into powder for feeding trials that took place in enclosed glasshouses to ensure bees consumed only the test diets.

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Colonies fed the sterol-enriched yeast reared up to 15 times more larvae to the viable pupal stage compared to control colonies, showing dramatic reproductive improvement.

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The sterol profile of larvae in test colonies matched that found in naturally foraging colonies – suggesting bees selectively transfer only the most biologically important sterols to their young.

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What happens when bee colonies face nutritional deficiencies? Control colonies on sterol-deficient diets ceased brood production entirely by 90 days.

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Over the past decade, annual commercial honey bee colony losses in the U.S. have typically ranged between 40-50%, reaching a record high of 55.6% in 2024-25.

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The engineered supplement could benefit wild bee species by reducing competition for limited pollen supplies when managed honeybees are present in large numbers for crop pollination.

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How crucial are bees to our food system? Pollinators like honeybees contribute to the production of over 70% of leading global crops.

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The research team suggests the supplement could potentially be available to farmers within two years, though this depends on successful field trials and regulatory approvals.

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While nutrition alone won't solve all threats facing bee populations – including varroa mites, viral diseases, and pesticide exposure – it addresses a fundamental challenge to colony resilience.

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Further field trials will determine whether these promising laboratory results translate to real-world benefits for agriculture and pollinator health in open environments.

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