First detection and dominance of Nosema ceranae in Hungarian honeybee colonies

Abstract

Microsporidiosis (nosema disease) of the European honeybee (Apis mellifera L.) is present in bee colonies worldwide. Until recently, Nosema apis had been regarded as the causative agent of the disease, which may have many negative effects on the colony and cause heavy economic losses in apicultures. Another microsporidium species, Nosema ceranae, was reported to infest the Asian honeybee (Apis ceranae), but both honeybee species are susceptible to both microsporidia. In the European honeybee N. ceranae was first detected in Spain in the year 2006. As it is difficult to distinguish N. ceranae and N. apis morphologically, a rapid and accurate assay has been developed to differentiate N. apis and N. ceranae based on polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism (PCR-RFLP) of the partial large subunit ribosomal RNA. The assay was tested on 38 Nosema-infested bee samples, which were collected from geographically distant Hungarian bee colonies representing all regions of the country. Only one sample contained N. apis, and in the other 37 samples N. ceranae was detected, which indicates the dominance of N. ceranae in Hungarian apiaries. This is the first report on the presence of N. ceranae in Hungary.

Permanent prevalence of Nosema ceranae in honey bees (Apis mellifera) in Hungary

“…In contrast, N. ceranae is persistent. Tapaszti et al (2009) showed that N. ceranae was dominant in the summer season, and data from the current study prove that it is dominant throughout the year.…”

“…The first purpose of present study was to detect the presence of N. ceranae in Hungarian honey bee colonies prior to the 2007 samples collected by Tapaszti et al (2009). The second purpose was to propose investigation of the distribution of the two different Nosema spp.…”

“…Nosema ceranae can be detected in samples throughout the year, even in the summer months, as there is no evidence of seasonality under certain climatic conditions (Martín-Hernández et al, 2007). The presence of N. ceranae was first reported in Hungary by Tapaszti et al (2009) in 2007 in 37 out of 38 Nosemainfected bee samples collected from Hungarian apiaries using PCR-RFLP methods. All of these 37 samples contained only N. ceranae, which indicated the dominance of N. ceranae in Hungarian apiaries.…”

A comparison of the effectiveness of the microscopic method and the multiplex PCR method in identifying and discriminating the species of Nosema spp. spores in worker bees (Apis mellifera) from winter hive debris

“…In the group of 38 analyzed samples, Nosema apis spores were found in only one sample, while the remaining 37 samples showed the presence of Nosema ceranae. The above authors have concluded that Nosema ceranae has become the predominant pathogenic species affecting Hungarian bee colonies (Tapaszti et al 2009). Chen et al (2008) investigated bee specimens infected with Nosema spp., collected in 1995-2007 in 12 states of the USA.…”

Integration of Molecular and Genetic Methods in the Investigation of the Biodiversity of the Honey Bee (Apis Mellifera L., Hymenoptera: Apidae) and Diagnosis of Diseases of Economic Importance Affecting the Bees and their Brood in Bulgaria

“…Both classical (microscopic examination of the spores) and molecular methods are applied. For the identification and differentiation of the two nosema species, and also for their quantitative determination are used PCR, PCR-RFLP, Real-time PCR and multiplex PCR method [31,32].…”