Oxytetracycline hydrochloride activity in honey bee 
larvae (<i>Apis mellifera</i>) following medication
with various doses

McKee, Ben; Goodman, Russell David; Saywell, Christian; Hepworth, Graham

doi:10.1051/apido:2003018

Cited by 6 publications

(4 citation statements)

References 6 publications

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“…All the large larvae in unsealed cells became radioactive within 48 hours. McKee et al (2003) confirmed that OTC treatment reaches larvae rapidly : on the day following a treatment with 0.3 to 1 g of OTC, they measured in larvae an OTC level ranging between 13.3 and 172.2 mg.kg -1 .…”

Section: Tetracycline Residues In Hivesmentioning

confidence: 67%

Tetracycline residues in honey after hive treatment

Martel¹,

Zeggane²,

Drajnudel³

et al. 2006

Food Additives and Contaminants

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International audienceTetracyclines are used to control bacterial diseases like European and American foulbrood which may cause severe losses in honey bee population and honey production. This study, using 24 hives randomly distributed into four groups of 6 hives, was performed for measuring the occurrence of tetracycline (TC) residue levels in honey following two types of TC application. Two groups of colonies were treated 3 times with 0.5 g of TC in 1 litre of syrup (group S) or in 10 g of powdered sugar (group P). Six hives of a first control group (group C) fed with untreated syrup were installed at 20 and 45 metres from groups S and P respectively. A second control group (group DC) was disposed 3 km apart. TC residues in honey sampled at different times in all hives and in honey artificially contaminated with TC and stored in the laboratory at 4, 20 and 35°C were analysed by ELISA and HPLC methods. One day after the last application, the mean TC concentration in brood chamber honey was ten times higher in group S (40.7 mg.kg-1) than in group P (4.34 mg.kg-1). After 8 days, TC residues were detected in all hives of group C. After 146 days, the mean TC concentration in harvested honey was 1.54, 0.35, and 0.15 mg.kg-1 for groups S, P and C respectively. The control group C had been contaminated by drifting. In all hives of the group DC, no residues were detected at any time of the study. The honey harvested at day 504 did not contained any detectable TC residues, except in one super from group C (0.026 mg.kg-1). The half-life time of TC in honey from supers was similar in groups C, S and P and equal to 65 days. This duration was twice lower than in honey stored in laboratory in similar conditions : at 35°C in the dark (t1/2 = 121 days). In honey stored at 20°C, TC was quite stable as its half-life time was 242 days. The data from these experiments specify levels of TC residues in honey after a treatment in hives, their persistence and diffusion into the apiary. These results show that the TC must be used with precaution in honey production

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Section: Tetracycline Residues In Hivesmentioning

confidence: 67%

Tetracycline residues in honey after hive treatment

Martel¹,

Zeggane²,

Drajnudel³

et al. 2006

Food Additives and Contaminants

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show abstract

“…Oxytetracycline is used in the control of European foulbrood, a disease of honeybees caused by Melissococcus plutonius . The antibiotic is applied mixed with sugar or water and reaches minimal inhibitory concentrations in the larval guts within 24 h post treatment, but declines rapidly to a level under MIC within two to five days [7, 8]. In the USA, bees have been exposed to prophylactic oxytetracycline use for over 50 years and high levels of tetracycline resistance can be detected in bee guts [6].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Oxytetracycline reduces the diversity of tetracycline-resistance genes in the Galleria mellonella gut microbiome

Ignasiak

Maxwell

2018

BMC Microbiol

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BackgroundClinically-relevant multidrug resistance is sometimes present in bacteria not exposed to human-made antibiotics, in environments without extreme selective pressures, such as the insect gut. The use of antibiotics on naïve microbiomes often leads to decreased microbe diversity and increased antibiotic resistance.ResultsHere we investigate the impact of antibiotics on the insect gut microbiome by identifying tetracycline-resistance genes in the gut bacteria of greater wax moth (Galleria mellonella) larvae, feeding on artificial food containing oxytetracycline. We determined that G. mellonella can be raised on artificial food for over five generations and that the insects tolerate low doses of antibiotics in their diets, but doses of oxytetracycline higher than sub-inhibitory lead to early larval mortality. In our experiments, greater wax moth larvae had a sparse microbiome, which is consistent with previous findings. Additionally, we determined that the microbiome of G. mellonella larvae not exposed to antibiotics carries a number of tetracycline-resistance genes and some of that diversity is lost upon exposure to strong selective pressure.ConclusionsWe show that G. mellonella larvae can be raised on artificial food, including antibiotics, for several generations and that the microbiome can be sampled. We show that, in the absence of antibiotics, the insect gut microbiome can maintain a diverse pool of tetracycline-resistance genes. Selective pressure, from exposure to the antibiotic oxytetracycline, leads to microbiome changes and alteration in the tetracycline-resistance gene pool.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (10.1186/s12866-018-1377-3) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

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“…After six days of in vitro rearing, larvae treated with 100 μg/mL OTC were calculated to receive a total dose of 105–120 μg/g OTC per larvae, not accounting for the 34-h half-life of OTC in water 28 . Accordingly, the dose of OTC per larva in vitro is ~ 10× the quantity of OTC previously reported in honey bee larvae from a field colony treated with 300 mg OTC 39 . In the field, we anticipate that concentrations lower than 100 μg/mL will be sufficient due to the presence of social immunity within a colony as a mechanism for pathogen defense.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 84%

“…In fact, the concentration of OTC required to inhibit this strain in vitro is higher than the expected accumulation of the antibiotic during a standard treatment. For example, honey bee larvae sampled from one or two chamber field colonies, one day after colony treatment with 300 mg OTC (in excess of current label recommendations of 200 mg), were shown to have OTC concentrations of ~ 13 and 9 μg/g, respectively 39 . While this appears to be a sub-therapeutic dose for infection with M. plutonius 2019BC1, social immunity (see below) may influence on colony-level antibiotic efficacy.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Evaluating approved and alternative treatments against an oxytetracycline-resistant bacterium responsible for European foulbrood disease in honey bees

Masood

Thebeau

Cloet

et al. 2022

Sci Rep

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European foulbrood (EFB) is a disease of honey bee larvae caused by Melissococcus plutonius. In North America, oxytetracycline (OTC) is approved to combat EFB disease though tylosin (TYL) and lincomycin (LMC) are also registered for use against American foulbrood disease. Herein, we report and characterize an OTC-resistant M. plutonius isolate from British Columbia, Canada, providing an antimicrobial sensitivity to the three approved antibiotics and studying their abilities to alter larval survival in an in vitro infection model. Specifically, we investigated OTC, TYL, and LMC as potential treatment options for EFB disease using laboratory-reared larvae infected with M. plutonius. The utility of the three antibiotics were compared through an experimental design that either mimicked metaphylaxis or antimicrobial intervention. At varying concentrations, all three antibiotics prevented clinical signs of EFB disease following infection with M. plutonius 2019BC1 in vitro. This included treatment with 100 μg/mL of OTC, a concentration that was ~ 3× the minimum inhibitory concentration measured to inhibit the strain in nutrient broth. Additionally, we noted high larval mortality in groups treated with doses of OTC corresponding to ~ 30× the dose required to eliminate bacterial growth in vitro. In contrast, TYL and LMC were not toxic to larvae at concentrations that exceed field use. As we continue to investigate antimicrobial resistance (AMR) profiles of M. plutonius from known EFB outbreaks, we expect a range of AMR phenotypes, reiterating the importance of expanding current therapeutic options along with alternative management practices to suppress this disease.

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Oxytetracycline hydrochloride activity in honey bee larvae (Apis mellifera) following medication with various doses

Cited by 6 publications

References 6 publications

Tetracycline residues in honey after hive treatment

Tetracycline residues in honey after hive treatment

Oxytetracycline reduces the diversity of tetracycline-resistance genes in the Galleria mellonella gut microbiome

Evaluating approved and alternative treatments against an oxytetracycline-resistant bacterium responsible for European foulbrood disease in honey bees

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