Scientist Decoded genetic code of Honey Bees revealing its sensitivity to Environmental Change

Scientists unlocked the genetic secrets behind honey bees' high sensitivity to environmental change which will help show links between nutrition, environment and the insects' development.

The decoded gene could offer an insight into problems like Colony Collapse Disorder, a mysterious cause of mass bee deaths globally. Honey bees live in complex societies comprising tens of thousands of individuals.

Most of these are female 'worker' honeybees that are unable to reproduce and instead devote their short lives to finding food in flowers and other tasks such as nursing larvae inside the hive. However, the hive has a queen as well - the much longer-lived, reproductive head of the hive.

As per the Researchers the change occurs as a result of a histone code - a process that sees genetic changes made to proteins called histones within cells' nuclei. Rather than "genetic" changes that are locked into DNA, these are known as "epigenetic" changes.

The study findings appeared in Insect Biochemistry and Molecular Biology.