Apothecary Bees, using the honey bee as a tool for drug discovery

Antibacterial effects of honey have been observed for over a century and it has been widely used as a therapeutic addition to wound dressings. The activity of honey is due to a range of factors which include the hyper-osmotic properties of the sugar, the production of hydrogen peroxide by natural enzymatic reactions, metabolic byproducts such as Methylglyoxal (MGO), bee derived peptides and phyto-chemicals donated by the plants. The contribution of these phyto-chemicals to the overall antimicrobial activity of a particular honey will depend on the properties of the plants visited by the bees. For example Manuka honey from New Zealand is produced by allowing bees to forage on the Manuka bush (Leptospermum scoparium) a plant which produces a compound called Leptospermone which has potent antibacterial activity. To identify other potential antibacterial phyto-chemicals we propose to screen honey produced by bees which have feed on plants from a variety of UK habitats.

Initially we will compare the ability of each honey to inactivate Methicillin Resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) to that of commercially available Manuka using methods previously developed in our laboratory. Honey samples that show the presence of active phyto-chemicals will be assessed to determine the individual plant species which provided the raw material to make the honey. This part of the project will be carried out at the National Botanic Garden of Wales and make use of the Barcode Wales dataset - in which all of the flowering plant species of Wales have been DNA barcoded.

Finally, the activity of individual plants identified by this process will be assessed, as well as their potential to form the basis of a future drug development pathway.

In addition to identifying phyto-chemicals capable of combating human pathogens we will also seek to identify plants which increase the natural resistance of bees to pathogens such as the Varroa mite.

Eligibility requirements:

1. Have an address in a Convergence area of Wales* at the time of University registration – this can be a home address, or the address of a current employer.

*The Convergence area covers North Wales, West Wales and the Valleys, and is made up of the following 15 local authorities: Isle of Anglesey, Gwynedd, Conwy, Denbighshire, Ceredigion, Pembrokeshire, Carmarthenshire, Swansea, Neath Port Talbot, Bridgend, Rhondda Cynon Taf, Merthyr Tydfil, Caerphilly, Blaenau Gwent and Torfaen. A WEFO map can be found at: http://www.wefo.wales.gov.uk/resource/Convergence(eng)-half-size6145.gif

2. For applicants that do not have a home address in the Convergence area, they should provide the name, address and contact details of their current employer.

3. Have the right to take up paid work in the Convergence areas of Wales* on completion of the scholarship, and be classified by the University as ‘home’ or ‘EU’ according to the University’s guidelines

4. Satisfy Cardiff University's admissions criteria - applicants for research PhDs will be expected to have one or both of the following:
- a first degree, normally with class 2:1 or equivalent in a relevant subject;
- a relevant Master's qualification or equivalent.