2024年1月5日， 乔纳森·雪, associate professor of biological sciences, published new research in 微生物学领域 题为“Bleomycin reduces Vairimorpha (Nosema) ceranae infection in honey bees with some evident host toxicity.“在这项研究中, Snow and his colleagues, including Barnard coauthors Parker Parrella ‘23, 伊莱安娜·伊莱坎，23岁, 海伦·科根，19岁, and Fatoumata Wague ‘22, explore potential pathogen control tools for protecting the honeybee against infection by parasites. The researchers specifically focus on Vairimorpha (Nosema) ceranae, one of the most common parasites to affect the insect.
怀疑 V. ceranae and other parasites like it may be susceptible to treatment with DNA-damaging agents, the research team tested the effectiveness of the antibiotic bleomycin as a potential treatment method. Bleomycin is also used as a chemotherapy agent to treat several types of cancer.
The study findings show that bleomycin reduces V. ceranae levels with effects on honey bee survival that are small, but measurable. Though the efficacy of bleomycin is similar to traditional methods, the authors conclude that host toxicity issues may preclude its use in the field.