FAQ – DNA-pollen analysis of honey

In order to be able to carry out the DNA analysis at such a favorable price, it is carried out in a kind of “bus system” – a sufficient quantity of samples must be available. We have the following analysis times depending on the honey year:

Winter analysis: 

Samples received by: 01.03.
Result: First week of April

Spring analysis:

Samples received by: 01.06.
Result: First week of July

Summer analysis I:

Sample receipt by: 01.07.
Result: First week of August

 Summer analysis II: 

Sample receipt by: 01.08.
Result: First week of September

The method is of course also suitable for analyzing collected pollen. We are currently working on an optimized sampling procedure for this. This product will soon be available in our webshop.

📌We will keep you up to date in our news section.

Most of the detected plant DNA comes from pollen, which falls onto the flower base when insects visit the flower and is picked up by the bee.

This pollen is used for reproduction and contains the male genetic material. In the DNA-pollen analysis of honey, we isolate this DNA, amplify a section, read out the genetic code and assign it to the plant species from which this DNA originates using a database comparison.

DNA analysis is used to detect the entire plant DNA in honey. The basis for the results is the genetic material contained in each plant cell. We therefore detect the DNA in pollen, which carries the male genetic material and makes up the main part, but also that from plant residues.

In Honig lässt sich die DNA der Honigbienen vergleichbar mit jener von Pflanzen nachweisen. Auch sie hinterlassen d

The DNA of honey bees can be detected in honey in a similar way to that of plants. They also leave clear traces in honey. However, you need slightly different tools for this, as in this case you are looking for DNA from insects and not from plants. For the time being, we do not offer this as standard, as the honey we want to analyze was produced by beekeepers. We want to offer a tool that allows us to highlight the special characteristics of the honey. However, it is also planned to include this analysis in our program for the quality assurance of honey in the future.

📌 We will keep you up to date on this in our news section.

amit eindeutige Spuren im Honig. Allerdings braucht man dafür etwas andere Werkzeuge, da man in diesem Fall nach DNA von Insekten sucht und nicht von Pflanzen. Dies bieten wir vorerst noch nicht standardmäßig an, da der Honig, welchen wir analysieren möchten, von Imker:innen produziert wurde. Wir möchten damit ein Werkzeug bieten, welches ermöglicht, die Besonderheit des Honigs herauszustreichen. Es ist jedoch auch geplant für die Qualitätssicherung von Honig künftig diese Analyse in unser Programm aufzunehmen. 

📌 Wir halten Sie dazu in unserem News-Bereich dazu auf dem Laufenden.

In the case of forest honey, bees do not collect flower nectar, but honeydew, which comes from spruce aphids, for example. In DNA analysis, these insect DNA traces can be detected in a similar way to plant traces.

As aphids are usually host-specific, the origin of the honeydew, i.e. the conifers infested, can also be determined indirectly. However, this requires specialized analysis methods, as insect DNA is examined here instead of plant DNA.

We do not currently offer this method as standard, but are working on being able to analyze forest honeys more precisely.

📌We provide regular updates on progress in our news section.

Based on the composition of the plant species, which is determined by DNA analysis, it is possible to deduce which region the honey comes from. A mountain pasture honey from the European Alps has a different species composition to a honey from the foothills of the Alps or one from the South American Andes, for example. Plants from all over the world can be identified by comparing them with international databases, making it possible to determine the geographical origin of a honey. This means that the origin of the honey can be proven beyond doubt.

Each pollen analysis provides an overview of which plant species the bees have visited. Large pollen species, e.g: Pollen from dandelions, are filtered out by the bees and are therefore underrepresented (i.e. there is less of them in relation to each other). Very small pollen, such as forget-me-not pollen, on the other hand, can be over-represented (i.e. there is relatively more of it).

Furthermore, not all pollen has the same amount of genetic material. Particularly in cultivated plants (e.g. strawberries, zucchinis, etc.), the genetic material can be present in multiple copies and therefore more DNA molecules of these species can be found. It is therefore not possible to draw precise conclusions about the number of plants visited. However, a very precise overview of the entire range of plants visited by the bees for the analyzed honey can be obtained.

DNA analysis shows how frequently pollen of certain plant species is detected in honey and thus allows a very good characterization of which honey plants are the basis of a particular honey.

We are currently working on adapting DNA-pollen analysis of honey to the characterization of varietal honeys.

 We will keep you up to date on this in our news section.

In the DNA-pollen analysis of honey, the code of DNA fragments is read and compared with sections that are stored in so-called sequence databases as representatives of the various plant species. The code of not every DNA molecule found is perfectly readable, as individual DNA strands have also been broken down into fragments during the processing of honey. These fragments can therefore become more difficult to read and are sometimes only assignable at family level (e.g. rose family, broadleaf family, etc.). This can also be seen in the detailed view.

Even experienced beekeepers are sometimes surprised: bees do not automatically fly to the nearest or seemingly most productive flowers. Instead, they follow their own logic – for example, by preferring a single lime tree in the middle of a chestnut forest or heading for a distant rapeseed field even though strawberries are blooming right next to the apiary.

The DNA-pollen analysis of honey shows you in black and white which plants your bees have actually flown to. This not only provides you with clear data on the foraging behavior of your colonies, but also valuable information on the availability of honey at your location. You can also better assess whether a change of location during the bee year was worthwhile.

The DNA analysis shows you precisely which plant species are in your honey – much more precisely than a classic pollen analysis. Around 35,000 pollen per sample are analyzed.

Many beekeepers assume that there are around 25-30 plant species in flower honey – in fact, there can be over 150 different species. Every honey is unique.

You will also receive a QR code that your customers can use to access the diversity of your honey.

When the honey sample arrives at our laboratory, you will receive a confirmation of receipt by e-mail. If you do not receive this e-mail within 14 days of sending your sample to us, please contact us directly via our e-mail address (office@sinsoma.com). We will then investigate the problem. Something probably went wrong during shipping. Rest assured – we will find a solution!