Diet Diversity Affects Health

a yellow and black honeybee stands on a flower with bright pink petals and red stigmas

Biological Strategy

Western honeybee

AskNature Team

Image: Jonas Thorén / Pixabay / Public Domain - No restrictions

Protect From Microbes

In living systems, microbes play important roles, such as breaking down organic matter and maintaining personal and system health. But they also pose threats. Bacteria can be pathogens that cause diseases. Some bacteria create colonies called biofilms that can coat surfaces, reducing their effectiveness–for example, inhibiting a leaf’s ability to photosynthesize. Living systems must have strategies for protecting from microbes that cause disease or become so numerous that they create an imbalance in the system. At the same time, living systems must continue living in harmony with other microbes. Some living systems kill microbes. Others repel without killing to reduce the chances that microbes will adapt to the lethal strategy and become resistant to it. For example, some pea seedlings exude a chemical that inhibits biofilm buildup.

Search this Function

Regulate Cellular Processes

Cells are the basic building blocks of all living systems, so cellular processes dictate how physiological processes occur within those systems. Cells (whether entire unicellular organisms or parts of multicellular living systems) grow, metabolize nutrients (that is, chemically transform them), produce proteins and enzymes, replicate, and move. Cells as part of multicellular systems rarely act alone, instead having ways to signal to start and complete simple to quite complex interactions. How skin heals is a good example of the role of cellular processes. Blood cells called platelets release clotting factors to stop the bleeding; white blood cells rid the area of foreign materials and release molecules to coordinate healing; cells called fibroblasts start rebuilding using proteins called collagen; new blood vessels form; and skin cells called keratinocytes create the new surface.

Search this Function

Insects

Class Insecta (“an insect”): Flies, ants, beetles, cockroaches, fleas, dragonflies

Insects are the most abundant arthropods—they make up 90% of the animals in the phylum. They’re found everywhere on earth except the deep ocean, and scientists estimate there are millions of insects not yet described. Most live on land, but many live in freshwater or saltwater marshes for part of their life cycles. Insects have three distinct body sections: a head, which has specialized mouthparts, a thorax, which has jointed legs, and an abdomen. They have well-developed nervous and sensory systems, and are the only invertebrate that can fly, thanks to their lightweight exoskeletons and small size.

Search this Living System

Immunocompetence of honeybees is maintained with a diverse diet.

“The maintenance of the immune system can be costly, and a lack of
dietary can increase the susceptibility of organisms
to disease. However, few studies have investigated
the relationship between protein nutrition and immunity in insects.
Here,
we tested in honeybees (Apis mellifera)
whether dietary protein quantity (monofloral pollen) and diet diversity
(polyfloral pollen) can shape baseline immunocompetence
(IC) by measuring parameters of individual immunity
(haemocyte concentration, fat body content and phenoloxidase activity)
and oxidase (GOX) activity, which enables
bees to sterilize colony and brood food, as a parameter of social
immunity.
Protein feeding modified both individual and social
IC but increases in dietary protein quantity did not enhance IC.
However,
diet diversity increased IC levels. In particular,
polyfloral diets induced higher GOX activity compared with monofloral
diets,
including protein-richer diets. These results
suggest a link between protein nutrition and immunity in honeybees and
underscore
the critical role of resource availability on
pollinator health.” (Alaux et al. 2010)