MIT: Can we Save the Bees?

The MIT review interviewed GreenLight Bio co-founder and Chief Strategy Officer, Marta Ortega-Valle:

Of the many challenges facing honeybees, the biggest is barely visible to the naked eye: varroa destructor, commonly known as the varroa mite. It’s only about a millimeter long but has a brutally effective reproduction system, feeding on and infecting bee larvae. In a few weeks, the varroa can destroy an entire hive, and the mites are increasingly resistant to traditional treatments, which are usually chemical applications. Beekeepers lost almost half of their managed hives between April 2022 and April 2023, and varroa was the leading cause.

That’s where GreenLight Biosciences comes in. Using ribonucleic acid (RNA), the company has developed an anti-mite treatment that’s currently under review by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). The biopesticide is designed to impact only the mite without damaging the hive or its honey. According to the company, it improves bee survival by up to 70% while respecting biodiversity.

“We want to provide alternatives to farmers so that they can be competitive and, at the same time, use technologies that are sophisticated enough that they respect biodiversity, pollinators, and the environment,” says Marta Ortega-Valle, SF ’08, co-founder of GreenLight Bio. Considering that, according to the USDA, pollinators are responsible for 35% of the world’s crops, it’s an essential solution that farmers need urgently.

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