Development of an embryo cloning technology for honeybees

Our laboratory has worked with issues related to the embryo cioning of bees for almost 10 years. Today we have all the key ingredients of such a technology in place except for an efficient technique for removing the native haploid matemal pronucleus or ff ie zygote in the young egg (<2 hours). In this project our main concern will be to solve the enucleation problem, and to show how åll the protocols we ave developed can be assembled into a working technology. Such a technology will provide a means to stan dardise the genetic ackground of queens and workers, and to take care of specific strains and mutants. The technology is believed to become an intergral art of future studies in neurobiology, behavioural ecology and functional genomic research in honeybee s. The project would also rovide a considerable amount of important information conceming genetic mosai c individuals. This may lay a foundation for a future advanced mutant analysis strategy in honeybees comparable to what we have in mice, C. elegans and Drosophila. We are in a good position to succeed with this project. Our laboratory is acknowledged internationally to be leading the development of rotocols for nuclear transpiantation, quantitative microinjection, embryo cioning, egg provision technique s, and cryopr eservation of reblastoderm nuclei in honyebees, and the research achievements and goals were rated as very good by an international panel eviewing Norwegian biological research last year. Our collaborator, dr. Greg Hunt at Purdue University is one of the leading oneybee molecular geneticists in the world. is one of the Even though our main concern is to develop a tool for the social insect research community it should be noted that an embryo cloning technology may have a very large commercial potential. However, before any commercial use can be considered, it has to be documented beyond doubt by molecular genetic, physiological, morphological and behavioural means that the manipulation of embryos do not introduce any unexpected cha nges. Given such documentation it will in addition have to be developed breeding programme s that prevent erosion of the genetic diversity of the Norwegian domestic honeybee population. To prepare for such commercial use is beyond the scope of the present project.