[DIYbio] Re: Transgenic CCD resistant honeybee - need help

Hi everyone! 

That latest project I'm currently working on is to confer resistance to a bee. 

Some of you probably heard of the bee dying due to many different factors, which all together cause CCD.

(See http://beeotex.wordpress.com ) 

The bee does kind of inbreeding and therefore has a very small gene pool. Other insects are much better fighting off all the diseases. 

I found a lot of resistance genes in the literature, such as antibacterial peptides, antifungal peptides, enzymes that destroy insectizides.

Additionally, shRNA will fight the worst viruses

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/11122471 

Here it is shown that you can "easily" transform bees by mixing bee semen with DNA, and fertilizing a queen bee. Some of the offspring will have the DNA then. 

In this study, the transgenic DNA was inheritable, however it did not integrate into the bees' genomes. 

Another study showed that a transposon works perfectly to integrate DNA into the honeybee genome (although they did microinjection into larvae and yielded genetic mosaic bees). 

I have the entire construct and whatsoever, and found a beekeeper in the US who can do the insemination. 

But DNA 2.0 charges 1800$ for everything (synthesis plus subcloning into this transposon vector). 

Is there anyone with too much money who would like to help out? In case we will be able to somehow sell the bees, we can offer shares :D 

Best,

Andreas