Can the exotic pathogen Nosema ceranae affect the amount of Cucurbita maxima pollen grains transported by the native bee Eucera fervens?

Landa, Gregorio Fernández de; Arcerito, Facundo René Meroi; Corti, Camila; Revainera, Pablo Damián; Nicolli, Anabella Rita; Zumpano, Francisco; Brasesco, Constanza; Quintana, Silvina; Landa, Mateo Fernandez de; Ramos, F.J. García; Petrigh, Romina Sandra; Eguaras, Martín Javier; Galetto, Leonardo; Maggi, Matías

doi:10.1007/s11829-022-09918-9

Cited by 3 publications

(3 citation statements)

References 60 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…Examples of these traits could include proboscis length, wing length, and pollinator foraging decisions such as constancy and time spent at each flower. Currently, these connections have been established through observational studies looking at natural variation in pathogen load [ 21 , 52 ] as well as theoretical work focusing on behavior in Hymenoptera [ 22 ]. Thus, we suggest that researchers conduct direct manipulations of pollinator exposure to pathogens to measure the impacts of pathogens on these pollination-relevant traits as well as the corresponding cascading effects on plant reproduction.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…However, their effects on plant reproduction depend on whether the novel trait or change in trait value promotes or deters pollination. For example, changes in the behavior of Eucera fervens bees caused by exposure to Nosema ceranae can alter pollen movement between Cucurbita maxima plants [ 52 ]. Moreover, an observational study showed that higher prevalence of Nosema in Bombus spp.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Meta-Analysis of the Effects of Insect Pathogens: Implications for Plant Reproduction

Recart

Bernhard

et al. 2023

Pathogens

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Despite extensive work on both insect disease and plant reproduction, there is little research on the intersection of the two. Insect-infecting pathogens could disrupt the pollination process by affecting pollinator population density or traits. Pathogens may also infect insect herbivores and change herbivory, potentially altering resource allocation to plant reproduction. We conducted a meta-analysis to (1) summarize the literature on the effects of pathogens on insect pollinators and herbivores and (2) quantify the extent to which pathogens affect insect traits, with potential repercussions for plant reproduction. We found 39 articles that fit our criteria for inclusion, extracting 218 measures of insect traits for 21 different insect species exposed to 25 different pathogens. We detected a negative effect of pathogen exposure on insect traits, which varied by host function: pathogens had a significant negative effect on insects that were herbivores or carried multiple functions but not on insects that solely functioned as pollinators. Particular pathogen types were heavily studied in certain insect orders, with 7 of 11 viral pathogen studies conducted in Lepidoptera and 5 of 9 fungal pathogen studies conducted in Hymenoptera. Our results suggest that most studies have focused on a small set of host–pathogen pairs. To understand the implications for plant reproduction, future work is needed to directly measure the effects of pathogens on pollinator effectiveness.

show abstract

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Meta-Analysis of the Effects of Insect Pathogens: Implications for Plant Reproduction

Recart

Bernhard

et al. 2023

Pathogens

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…In particular, Eucera pruinosa (hereafter, squash bee) is a squash pollen specialist that depends nearly entirely on Cucurbita for pollen, is highly effective at pollinating Cucurbita plants, and can be highly abundant in some squash fields (Figure 1c ; Hurd et al, 1971 ; Tepedino, 1981 ). Currently, there is little evidence that squash bees become infected by V. ceranae ; detection of V. ceranae in E. pruinosa is very low (Jones et al, 2022 ), although high spore intensity has recently been observed for the first time in another Eucera species, E. fervens (Fernandez de Landa et al, 2022 ). However, non‐host pollinators can vector pollinator parasites among flowers and contribute to parasite spread (Davis et al, 2021 ).…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Honeybee visitation to shared flowers increases Vairimorpha ceranae prevalence in bumblebees

Zbrozek,

Fearon,

Weise

et al. 2023

Ecology and Evolution

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Vairimorpha (=Nosema) ceranae is a widespread pollinator parasite that commonly infects honeybees and wild pollinators, including bumblebees. Honeybees are highly competent V. ceranae hosts and previous work in experimental flight cages suggests V. ceranae can be transmitted during visitation to shared flowers. However, the relationship between floral visitation in the natural environment and the prevalence of V. ceranae among multiple bee species has not been explored. Here, we analyzed the number and duration of pollinator visits to particular components of squash flowers—including the petals, stamen, and nectary—at six farms in southeastern Michigan, USA. We also determined the prevalence of V. ceranae in honeybees and bumblebees at each site. Our results showed that more honeybee flower contacts and longer duration of contacts with pollen and nectar were linked with greater V. ceranae prevalence in bumblebees. Honeybee visitation patterns appear to have a disproportionately large impact on V. ceranae prevalence in bumblebees even though honeybees are not the most frequent flower visitors. Floral visitation by squash bees or other pollinators was not linked with V. ceranae prevalence in bumblebees. Further, V. ceranae prevalence in honeybees was unaffected by floral visitation behaviors by any pollinator species. These results suggest that honeybee visitation behaviors on shared floral resources may be an important contributor to increased V. ceranae spillover to bumblebees in the field. Understanding how V. ceranae prevalence is influenced by pollinator behavior in the shared floral landscape is critical for reducing parasite spillover into declining wild bee populations.

show abstract

The gut microbiome of solitary bees is mainly affected by pathogen assemblage and partially by land use

Landa

Alberoni

Baffoni

et al. 2023

Environmental Microbiome

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Pollinators, including solitary bees, are drastically declining worldwide. Among the factors contributing to this decline, bee pathogens and different land uses are of relevance. The link between the gut microbiome composition and host health has been recently studied for social pollinators (e.g. honeybees), whereas the information related to solitary bees is sparse. This work aimed at the characterization of the gut microbiome of the solitary bees Xylocopa augusti, Eucera fervens and Lasioglossum and attempted to correlate the gut microbial composition with the presence and load of different pathogens and land uses. Solitary bees were sampled in different sites (i.e. a farm, a natural reserve, and an urban plant nursery) showing different land uses. DNA was extracted from the gut, 16S rRNA gene amplified and sequenced. Eight pathogens, known for spillover from managed bees to wild ones, were quantified with qPCR. The results showed that the core microbiome profile of the three solitary bees significantly varied in the different species. Pseudomonas was found as the major core taxa in all solitary bees analyzed, whereas Lactobacillus, Spiroplasma and Sodalis were the second most abundant taxa in X. augusti, E. fervens and Lasioglossum, respectively. The main pathogens detected with qPCR were Nosema ceranae, Nosema bombi and Crithidia bombi, although differently abundant in the different bee species and sampling sites. Most microbial taxa did not show any correlation with the land use, apart from Snodgrassella and Nocardioides, showing higher abundances on less anthropized sites. Conversely, the pathogens species and load strongly affected the gut microbial composition, with Bifidobacterium, Apibacter, Serratia, Snodgrassella and Sodalis abundance that positively or negatively correlated with the detected pathogens load. Therefore, pathogens presence and load appear to be the main factor shaping the gut microbiome of solitary bees in Argentina.

show abstract

Can the exotic pathogen Nosema ceranae affect the amount of Cucurbita maxima pollen grains transported by the native bee Eucera fervens?

Cited by 3 publications

References 60 publications

Meta-Analysis of the Effects of Insect Pathogens: Implications for Plant Reproduction

Meta-Analysis of the Effects of Insect Pathogens: Implications for Plant Reproduction

Honeybee visitation to shared flowers increases Vairimorpha ceranae prevalence in bumblebees

The gut microbiome of solitary bees is mainly affected by pathogen assemblage and partially by land use

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About