Bees' breath can reveal hidden infections, new sensor shows
Fido M, Moriano-Gutierrez S, Lan J, Pirat A, Zufferey L
Pollinators
If you keep bees or just want the ones in your yard to survive, a device that smells disease before a hive collapses could catch trouble early enough to save it.
Researchers used a super-sensitive smell detector to capture the tiny gas molecules floating around a single living honey bee. They found that bees release different scent signatures depending on which gut bacteria they carry, and infected bees give off a distinct 'sick' smell, including a compound called butane-2,3-diol, when infected with a harmful bacterium. This means beekeepers could one day get an early warning of disease just from the air around their hive, without ever opening it up or harming the bees.
Key Findings
SESI-HRMS technology can detect volatile organic compounds released by a single live honey bee without harming it
Volatile profiles differ based on which gut bacteria colonize the bee, validated against LC-HRMS metabolomics
Infection with the pathogen Serratia marcescens produces detectable volatile biomarkers, including elevated butane-2,3-diol, matching compounds from cultured bacteria
chevron_right Technical Summary
Scientists built a tool that sniffs the air around a single live honey bee to detect its gut bacteria and diagnose infections, offering a fast, non-invasive way to check hive health.
Abstract Preview
Original paper
Real-time volatilomics reveals microbiota and pathogen fingerprints in the honey bee.
Understanding the complex relationship between gut microbiota and their hosts often relies on invasive sampling techniques. Honey bees provide a tractable model for host-microbe studies. Here, we e...
open_in_new Read full abstractAbstract copyright held by the original publisher.
Was this useful?
Want to tell us more? (optional)
Thanks for the note!
Something went wrong — please try again.
Too many submissions. Try again in an hour.
Street trees cut heat deaths by 39 percent in European cities
Trees in your local park or street aren't just pretty — they are literally keeping people alive during heatwaves, and planting even a modest number of the ri...
Plant signaling encompasses the molecular and cellular mechanisms by which plants perceive and respond to environmental changes, hormonal signals, and stress conditions. These signaling pathways regulate fundamental biological processes including growth, development, nutrient acquisition, and
arrow_forward Explore topic