@article{lópez-uribe_fitzgerald_simone-finstrom_2017, title={Inducible versus constitutive social immunity: examining effects of colony infection on glucose oxidase and defensin-1 production in honeybees}, DOI={10.1098/rsos.170224}, abstractNote={Honeybees use a variety of defence mechanisms to reduce disease infection and spread throughout the colony. Many of these defences rely on the collective action of multiple individuals to prevent, reduce or eradicate pathogens—often referred to as ‘social immunity’. Glucose oxidase (GOX) and some antimicrobial peptides (e.g. defensin-1 or Def1) are secreted by the hypopharyngeal gland of adult bees on larval food for their antiseptic properties. Because workers secrete these compounds to protect larvae, they have been used as ‘biomarkers’ for social immunity. The aim of this study was to investigate if GOX and Def1 are induced after pathogen exposure to determine whether its production by workers is the result of a collective effort to protect the brood and colony in response to a pathogen challenge. Specifically, we quantified GOX and Def1 in honeybee adults before and after colony-level bacterial infection by American foulbrood ((AFB), Paenibacillus larvae ). Overall, our results indicate that levels of GOX and Def1 are not induced in response to pathogenic infections. We therefore conclude that GOX and Def1 are highly constitutive and co-opted as mechanisms of social immunity, and these factors should be considered when investigating immunity at the individual and colony level in social insects.}, number={5}, journal={Royal Society Open Science}, author={López-Uribe, Margarita M. and Fitzgerald, Andrea and Simone-Finstrom, Michael}, year={2017}, month={May} }
 @article{simone-finstrom_walz_tarpy_2016, title={Genetic diversity confers colony-level benefits due to individual immunity}, volume={12}, ISSN={1744-9561 1744-957X}, url={http://dx.doi.org/10.1098/rsbl.2015.1007}, DOI={10.1098/rsbl.2015.1007}, abstractNote={Several costs and benefits arise as a consequence of eusociality and group-living. With increasing group size, spread of disease among nest-mates poses selective pressure on both individual immunity and group-level mechanisms of disease resistance (social immunity). Another factor known to influence colony-level expression of disease is intracolony genetic diversity, which in honeybees ( Apis mellifera ) is a direct function of the number of mates of the queen. Colonies headed by queens with higher mating numbers have less variable infections of decreased intensity, though the underlying mechanisms remain unclear. By pathogen-challenging larvae in vitro , we decoupled larval immune response from mechanisms of social immunity. Our results show that baseline immunity and degree of immune response do not vary with genetic diversity. However, intracolony variance in antimicrobial peptide production after pathogen challenge decreases with increasing genetic diversity. This reduction in variability of the larval immune response could drive the mitigation of disease observed in genetically diverse colonies.}, number={3}, journal={Biology Letters}, publisher={The Royal Society}, author={Simone-Finstrom, Michael and Walz, Megan and Tarpy, David R.}, year={2016}, month={Mar}, pages={20151007} }
 @article{li-byarlay_huang_simone-finstrom_strand_tarpy_rueppell_2016, title={Honey bee (Apis mellifera) drones survive oxidative stress due to increased tolerance instead of avoidance or repair of oxidative damage}, volume={83}, DOI={10.1016/j.exger.2016.07.003}, abstractNote={Oxidative stress can lead to premature aging symptoms and cause acute mortality at higher doses in a range of organisms. Oxidative stress resistance and longevity are mechanistically and phenotypically linked; considerable variation in oxidative stress resistance exists among and within species and typically covaries with life expectancy. However, it is unclear whether stress-resistant, long-lived individuals avoid, repair, or tolerate molecular damage to survive longer than others. The honey bee (Apis mellifera L.) is an emerging model system that is well-suited to address this question. Furthermore, this species is the most economically important pollinator, whose health may be compromised by pesticide exposure, including oxidative stressors. Here, we develop a protocol for inducing oxidative stress in honey bee males (drones) via Paraquat injection. After injection, individuals from different colony sources were kept in common social conditions to monitor their survival compared to saline-injected controls. Oxidative stress was measured in susceptible and resistant individuals. Paraquat drastically reduced survival but individuals varied in their resistance to treatment within and among colony sources. Longer-lived individuals exhibited higher levels of lipid peroxidation than individuals dying early. In contrast, the level of protein carbonylation was not significantly different between the two groups. This first study of oxidative stress in male honey bees suggests that survival of an acute oxidative stressor is due to tolerance, not prevention or repair, of oxidative damage to lipids. It also demonstrates colony differences in oxidative stress resistance that might be useful for breeding stress-resistant honey bees.}, journal={Experimental Gerontology}, author={Li-Byarlay, Hongmei and Huang, Ming Hua and Simone-Finstrom, Michael and Strand, Micheline K. and Tarpy, David R. and Rueppell, Olav}, year={2016}, month={Jul}, pages={15–21} }
 @article{simone-finstrom_li-byarlay_huang_strand_rueppell_tarpy_2016, title={Migratory management and environmental conditions affect lifespan and oxidative stress in honey bees}, volume={6}, ISSN={2045-2322}, url={http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/srep32023}, DOI={10.1038/srep32023}, abstractNote={Most pollination in large-scale agriculture is dependent on managed colonies of a single species, the honey bee Apis mellifera. More than 1 million hives are transported to California each year just to pollinate the almonds, and bees are trucked across the country for various cropping systems. Concerns have been raised about whether such "migratory management" causes bees undue stress; however to date there have been no longer-term studies rigorously addressing whether migratory management is detrimental to bee health. To address this issue, we conducted field experiments comparing bees from commercial and experimental migratory beekeeping operations to those from stationary colonies to quantify effects on lifespan, colony health and productivity, and levels of oxidative damage for individual bees. We detected a significant decrease in lifespan of migratory adult bees relative to stationary bees. We also found that migration affected oxidative stress levels in honey bees, but that food scarcity had an even larger impact; some detrimental effects of migration may be alleviated by a greater abundance of forage. In addition, rearing conditions affect levels of oxidative damage incurred as adults. This is the first comprehensive study on impacts of migratory management on the health and oxidative stress of honey bees.}, number={1}, journal={Scientific Reports}, publisher={Springer Science and Business Media LLC}, author={Simone-Finstrom, Michael and Li-Byarlay, Hongmei and Huang, Ming H. and Strand, Micheline K. and Rueppell, Olav and Tarpy, David R.}, year={2016}, month={Aug} }
 @article{defelice_ross_simone-finstrom_warrit_smith_burgett_sukumalanand_rueppell_2015, title={Geographic variation in polyandry of the eastern honey bee, Apis cerana, in Thailand}, volume={62}, number={1}, journal={Insectes Sociaux}, author={DeFelice, D. S. and Ross, C. and Simone-Finstrom, M. and Warrit, N. and Smith, D. R. and Burgett, M. and Sukumalanand, P. and Rueppell, O.}, year={2015}, pages={37–42} }
 @article{tarpy_simone-finstrom_linksvayer_2015, title={Honey bee colonies regulate queen reproductive traits by controlling which queens survive to adulthood}, volume={63}, DOI={10.1007/s00040-015-0452-0}, number={1}, journal={Insectes Sociaux}, author={Tarpy, D. R. and Simone-Finstrom, M. and Linksvayer, T. A.}, year={2015}, month={Dec}, pages={169–174} }
 @article{simone-finstrom_foo_tarpy_starks_2014, title={Impact of Food Availability, Pathogen Exposure, and Genetic Diversity on Thermoregulation in Honey Bees (Apis mellifera)}, volume={27}, DOI={10.1007/s10905-014-9447-3}, number={4}, journal={Journal of Insect Behavior}, author={Simone-Finstrom, M. and Foo, B. and Tarpy, D. R. and Starks, P. T.}, year={2014}, month={Mar}, pages={527–539} }
 @article{boncristiani_evans_chen_pettis_murphy_lopez_simone-finstrom_strand_tarpy_rueppell_2013, title={In Vitro Infection of Pupae with Israeli Acute Paralysis Virus Suggests Disturbance of Transcriptional Homeostasis in Honey Bees (Apis mellifera)}, volume={8}, ISSN={1932-6203}, url={http://dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0073429}, DOI={10.1371/journal.pone.0073429}, abstractNote={The ongoing decline of honey bee health worldwide is a serious economic and ecological concern. One major contributor to the decline are pathogens, including several honey bee viruses. However, information is limited on the biology of bee viruses and molecular interactions with their hosts. An experimental protocol to test these systems was developed, using injections of Israeli Acute Paralysis Virus (IAPV) into honey bee pupae reared ex-situ under laboratory conditions. The infected pupae developed pronounced but variable patterns of disease. Symptoms varied from complete cessation of development with no visual evidence of disease to rapid darkening of a part or the entire body. Considerable differences in IAPV titer dynamics were observed, suggesting significant variation in resistance to IAPV among and possibly within honey bee colonies. Thus, selective breeding for virus resistance should be possible. Gene expression analyses of three separate experiments suggest IAPV disruption of transcriptional homeostasis of several fundamental cellular functions, including an up-regulation of the ribosomal biogenesis pathway. These results provide first insights into the mechanisms of IAPV pathogenicity. They mirror a transcriptional survey of honey bees afflicted with Colony Collapse Disorder and thus support the hypothesis that viruses play a critical role in declining honey bee health.}, number={9}, journal={PLoS ONE}, publisher={Public Library of Science (PLoS)}, author={Boncristiani, Humberto F. and Evans, Jay D. and Chen, Yanping and Pettis, Jeff and Murphy, Charles and Lopez, Dawn L. and Simone-Finstrom, Michael and Strand, Micheline and Tarpy, David R. and Rueppell, Olav}, editor={Jan, EricEditor}, year={2013}, month={Sep}, pages={e73429} }
 @article{simone-finstrom_spivak_2012, title={Increased resin collection after parasite challenge: A case of self-medication in honey bees?}, volume={7}, number={3}, journal={PLoS One}, author={Simone-Finstrom, M. D. and Spivak, M.}, year={2012} }