GTU Academic Awarded TÜBİTAK 1002-A Support

May 16, 2025 - GTU Office of Press and Public Relations

The project titled “Investigating the Antifungal Effects of Lactobacillus helsingborgensis Isolated from the Gut Microbiota of Apis mellifera on Nosema ceranae”, prepared under the supervision of Assoc. Prof. Mine Gül-Şeker from the Department of Molecular Biology and Genetics at Gebze Technical University (GTU) and to be carried out as the master’s thesis of graduate student Faruk Barbaros Kalyoncu in the Microbiota Laboratory, is awarded support under the TÜBİTAK 1002-A Rapid Support Module.

The project aims to investigate the antifungal effects of the Lactobacillus helsingborgensis strain, isolated from the gut of healthy honeybees (Apis mellifera), on Nosema ceranae, a microsporidian fungus responsible for severe infections and colony collapses in bees. Furthermore, the probiotic potential of Lactobacillus helsingborgensis will be experimentally evaluated in this study, including its effects on spore load, immune response, and intestinal integrity in infected bees. The experiments will be conducted using the infrastructure of GTUMAR (GTU Central Research Laboratory) / GTU Department of Molecular Biology and Genetics, with the support of the Smart Agriculture Application and Research Center.

The study aims to contribute to the natural control of Nosema ceranae infections, reducing the need for chemical agents such as fumagillin, which is now banned in many countries.