Instituto Nacional de Investigaciones Forestales, Agricolas y Pecuarias 3 articles published in JoVE Biology Contact Mode Atomic Force Microscopy as a Rapid Technique for Morphological Observation and Bacterial Cell Damage Analysis Héctor Pérez Ladrón de Guevara1, Virginia Villa-Cruz1, Rita Patakfalvi1, Lily Xochilt Zelaya-Molina2, Ramiro Muñiz-Diaz1 1Centro Universitario de los Lagos, Universidad de Guadalajara, 2Centro Nacional de Recursos Genéticos, Instituto Nacional de Investigaciones Forestales, Agrícolas y Pecuarias Here, we present the application of atomic force microscopy (AFM) as a simple and fast method for bacterial characterization and analyze details such as the bacterial size and shape, bacterial culture biofilms, and the activity of nanoparticles as bactericides. Environment In Vitro Rearing of Solitary Bees: A Tool for Assessing Larval Risk Factors Prarthana S. Dharampal1, Caitlin M. Carlson2, Luis Diaz-Garcia3,4, Shawn A. Steffan1,5 1Department of Entomology, University of Wisconsin-Madison, 2Department of Bacteriology, University of Wisconsin-Madison, 3Department of Horticulture, University of Wisconsin-Madison, 4Instituto Nacional de Investigaciones Forestales Agricolas y Pecuarias, 5USDA-ARS, Vegetable Crop Research Unit Fungicide sprays on flowering plants may expose solitary bees to high concentrations of pollen-borne fungicide residues. Using laboratory-based experiments involving in vitro-reared bee larvae, this study investigates the interactive effects of consuming fungicide-treated pollen derived from host and non-host plants. Environment Empirical, Metagenomic, and Computational Techniques Illuminate the Mechanisms by which Fungicides Compromise Bee Health Shawn A. Steffan1,2, Prarthana S. Dharampal2, Luis Diaz-Garcia3,4, Cameron R. Currie5, Juan Zalapa1,3, Chris Todd Hittinger6,7,8 1Vegetable Crop Research Unit, USDA-ARS, 2Department of Entomology, University of Wisconsin-Madison, 3Department of Horticulture, University of Wisconsin-Madison, 4Instituto Nacional de Investigaciones Forestales, Agricolas y Pecuarias, 5Department of Bacteriology, University of Wisconsin-Madison, 6Laboratory of Genetics, Genome Center of Wisconsin, 7DOE Great Lakes Bioenergy Research Center, Wisconsin Energy Institute, 8J.F. Crow Institute for the Study of Evolution, University of Wisconsin-Madison Microbial consortia within bumble bee hives enrich and preserve pollen for bee larvae. Using next generation sequencing, along with laboratory and field-based experiments, this manuscript describes protocols used to test the hypothesis that fungicide residues alter the pollen microbiome, and colony demographics, ultimately leading to colony loss.
