Research Description
Wen-Yen Wu is an entomology graduate student in Dr. May Berenbaum’s lab. He is studying the impacts of pesticide residues on honey bee (Apis mellifera) colony health and its amelioration by dietary phytochemicals. Although the honey bee is a non-target organism of fungicides and is tolerant to high doses of fungicides, high levels of fungicide residues have frequently been observed in hives. Fungicide exposure may not only directly interfere with the detoxification enzymes of individual bees but may also damage the healthy gut microbiome communities and the microbial symbionts that facilitate food processing. Wen-Yen’s research aims to investigate the risks of fungicide exposure on food-processing-mediated and individual detoxification reactions.