FOR 5,000 YEARS HUMANS HAVE USED BEES FOR POLLINATION OF CROPS AND FOOD PRODUCTION. IN THE US MOST MAJOR CROPS ARE POLLINATED BY HONEY BEES AND IT IS ESTIMATED THAT 1/3 OF ALL FOOD DEPENDS ON HONEY BEE POLLINATION SERVICES. FOR NEARLY TWO DECADES HONEY BEE POPULATIONS HAVE BEEN IN DECLINE. THE CAUSAL AGENTS OF BEE COLONY LOSSES ARE COMPLEX BUT INCLUDE FUNGAL DISEASE. TO PREVENT FUNGAL DISEASE BEES HAVE ADOPTED DEFENSIVE BEHAVIORS AND CHEMICAL COMPOUNDS. I HAVE DISCOVERED THAT HONEY BEES BENEFIT FROM AN UNIDENTIFIED ANTIFUNGAL PRODUCED BY BOMBELLA APIS, A BACTERIUM PRESENT IN THE MICROBIOME OF HONEY BEE YOUNG (BROOD). B. APIS IS FOUND IN MULTIPLE ENVIRONMENTS WITHIN A COLONY AND MANY DIFFERENT GENETIC VARIANTS, CALLED STRAINS, CAN ALSO INHABIT A SINGLE COLONY. THE GOAL OF THIS PROJECT IS TO 1) DETERMINE IF DIFFERENT STRAINS PRODUCE MORE ANTIFUNGAL AND ARE SUBSEQUENTLY MORE PROTECTIVE FOR THEIR HOST AND TO 2) MAP THOSE STRAINS TO A PARTICULAR ENVIRONMENT IN THE COLONY.TO ACHIEVE THESE GOALS, WE WILL ISOLATE STRAINS OF B. APIS FROM MULTIPLE COLONIES AND IN LAB DETERMINE THEIR ANTIFUNGAL ACTIVITY. WE CAN THEN SEQUENCE THESE STRAINS AND COMPARE THOSE WITH HIGH AND LOW ANTIFUNGAL ACTIVITY TO DETERMINE THE GENES RESPONSIBLE FOR ANTIFUNGAL PRODUCTION. AT THE SAME TIME WE CAN SAMPLE FROM ALL THE ENVIRONMENTS IN THE COLONY WHERE B. APIS IS FOUND. BY SEQUENCING THESE SAMPLES WE CAN IDENTIFY WHICH STRAINS ARE IN EACH ENVIRONMENT. INTEGRATING THESE TWO DATASETS WE CAN LINK THE PRESENCE OF HIGHLY PROTECTIVE STRAINS TO THEIR LOCATION IN THE COLONY, HELPING US IDENTIFY HIGH RISK ENVIRONMENTS WERE FUNGAL DISEASES AND CONTAMINATION CAN INFILTRATE THE COLONY.THIS PROJECT HAS THE POTENTIAL TO IDENTIFY THE GENES UNDERLYING ANTIFUNGAL PRODUCTION WHICH COULD SUBSEQUENTLY LEAD TO THE DEVELOPMENT OF NEW ANTIFUNGAL THERAPIES FOR BEES AND CONCEIVABLY FOR HUMANS IN THE FUTURE. HONEY BEE MANAGEMENT PRACTICES COULD BE ADAPTED TO PROMOTE HIGHLY PROTECTIVE B. APIS STRAINS. SIMILARLY, IF THE THE ANTIFUNGAL COMPOUND IS ABLE TO BE SYNTHESIZED, NEW ANTIFUNGAL DRUGS COULD BE PRODUCED TO TREAT FUNGAL DISEASES BEYOND BEES, SUCH AS MAJOR AGRICULTURAL CROPS OR HUMANS.