Quantitative PCR assessment of Lotmaria passim in Apis mellifera colonies co-infected naturally with Nosema ceranae

Vejnović, Branislav; Stevanović, Jevrosima; Schwarz, Ryan S.; Aleksić, Nevenka; Mirilović, Milorad; Jovanović, Nemanja M.; Stanimirović, Zoran

doi:10.1016/j.jip.2017.11.003

Cited by 46 publications

(42 citation statements)

References 40 publications

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“…In support of this theory, samples from our study with the highest coverage of G. apicola and B. apis contigs also contained reads from pathogens such as L. passim or Nosema species. Significant positive correlation has been reported between infection levels of these parasites 79 .…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 92%

Characterisation of the British honey bee metagenome

et al. 2018

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The European honey bee (Apis mellifera) plays a major role in pollination and food production. Honey bee health is a complex product of the environment, host genetics and associated microbes (commensal, opportunistic and pathogenic). Improved understanding of these factors will help manage modern challenges to bee health. Here we used DNA sequencing to characterise the genomes and metagenomes of 19 honey bee colonies from across Britain. Low heterozygosity was observed in many Scottish colonies which had high similarity to the native dark bee. Colonies exhibited high diversity in composition and relative abundance of individual microbiome taxa. Most non-bee sequences were derived from known honey bee commensal bacteria or pathogens. However, DNA was also detected from additional fungal, protozoan and metazoan species. To classify cobionts lacking genomic information, we developed a novel network analysis approach for clustering orphan DNA contigs. Our analyses shed light on microbial communities associated with honey bees and demonstrate the power of high-throughput, directed metagenomics for identifying novel biological threats in agroecosystems.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 92%

Characterisation of the British honey bee metagenome

et al. 2018

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“…Signifi cant differences (p<0.05) in infection levels with both species between months implies the seasonal character of their prevalence. Highest parasite burdens with N. ceranae and L. passim were detected in forager bees sampled in winter and lowest in those taken in mid-summer [114].…”

Section: Infestation With Varroa Destructor and Mixed Virus Infectionsmentioning

confidence: 88%

“…Nosemosis. Microsporidians and trypanosomatids and are the most abundant eukaryotic gut parasites of honey bees [110][111][112][113][114] and have been correlated with increased colony losses, although their role is still controversial [115][116][117][118]. There are three microsporidian species which may infect A. mellifera: Nosema ceranae, most prevalent and globally distributed [116,119], N. apis, which prevails over N. ceranae only in cold climates [120][121][122], and N. neumanni, a recently described species, endemic in Uganda, causing low-level infection [123].…”

Section: Infestation With Varroa Destructor and Mixed Virus Infectionsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Investigations into the pathological effects of C. mellifi cae and L. passim on honey bees require primarily molecular tools for identifi cation of these trypanosomatids, so Stevanovic et al [112] designed and validated primers capable of distinguishing between C. mellifi cae and L. passim in conventional PCR, which enables routine research on their prevalence and epizootiology [163]. Moreover, primers for a real-time PCR were designed and the method optimized, which allows the simultaneous detection and quantifi cation of L. passim and its in-depth fi eld monitoring [114].…”

Section: Infestation With Varroa Destructor and Mixed Virus Infectionsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Looking for the causes of and solutions to the issue of honey bee colony losses

et al. 2019

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Colony losses, including those induced by the colony collapse disorder, are an urgent problem of contemporary apiculture which has been capturing the attention of both apiculturists and the research community. CCD is characterized by the absence of adult dead bees in the hive in which few workers and a queen remain, the ratio between the brood quantity and the number of workers is heavily disturbed in favor of the former, and more than enough food is present. Robbing behavior and pests usually attacking the weakened colony do not occur. In the present paper, the causes of the emergence of this problem are discussed, as well as the measures of its prevention. The following factors, which lead to colony losses, are analyzed: shortage of high-quality food (pollen and honey); infestation with parasites, primarily with Varroa destructor, and mixed virus infections; bacterial infections (American and European foulbrood), fungal infections (nosemosis and ascosphaerosis) and trypanosomal infections (lotmariosis); and, finally, general management of the apiary. Certain preventive measures are proposed: (1) providing ample high-quality forage and clean water, (2) avoiding sugarisation, i.e. superfluous use of sugar syrup, (3) meeting the nutritional needs of the colony, (4) when feeding bees, taking care of the timing and the composition of diet, avoiding pure sugar syrup which in excessive quantities may induce energetic and oxidative stress, (5) when there is a shortage of natural feed – honey in the brood chamber – use sugar syrup with natural/artificial supplements to avoid protein starvation, (6) organized control of V. destructor in the colonies is obligatory due to its vector role, and (7) compliance with hygienic and sanitary measures and principles of good apiculture practice and management in apiaries. To conclude, all preventive measures are feasible in compliance with rules and regulations concerning regular spring and autumn bee health monitoring by licensed veterinarians, who can propose adequate treatments if necessary.

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“…and L. passim, which parasitise together, has not extensively been investigated. Stevanovic et al [32] found that the majority of inspected colonies (60.5%) were coinfected with L. passim and N. ceranae and Vejnovic et al [33] revealed similar annual dynamics of L. passim and N. ceranae infection, as well as a seasonality in the occurrence of these parasites: highest burdens of N. ceranae and L. passim were detected in winter, and lowest in summer-in July, when the temperature was highest. Ravoet et al [34] reported that the possibility of bee colonies dying in winter is highest when infected with both the trypanosomes and N. ceranae, which is why their synergistic negative effect is supposed.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 98%

Oxidative Stress, Endoparasite Prevalence and Social Immunity in Bee Colonies Kept Traditionally vs. Those Kept for Commercial Purposes

Tarić

Glavinić

Vejnović

et al. 2020

Insects

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Commercially and traditionally managed bees were compared for oxidative stress (superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase (CAT), glutathione S-transferase (GST) and malondialdehyde (MDA)), the prevalence of parasites (Lotmaria passim, Crithidia mellificae and Nosema ceranae/apis) and social immunity (glucose oxidase gene expression). The research was conducted on Pester plateau (Serbia—the Balkan Peninsula), on seemingly healthy colonies. Significant differences in CAT, GST and SOD activities (p < 0.01), and MDA concentrations (p < 0.002) were detected between commercial and traditional colonies. In the former, the prevalence of both L. passim and N. ceranae was significantly (p < 0.05 and p < 0.01, respectively) higher. For the first time, L. passim was detected in honey bee brood. In commercial colonies, the prevalence of L. passim was significantly (p < 0.01) lower in brood than in adult bees, whilst in traditionally kept colonies the prevalence in adult bees and brood did not differ significantly. In commercially kept colonies, the GOX gene expression level was significantly (p < 0.01) higher, which probably results from their increased need to strengthen their social immunity. Commercially kept colonies were under higher oxidative stress, had higher parasite burdens and higher GOX gene transcript levels. It may be assumed that anthropogenic influence contributed to these differences, but further investigations are necessary to confirm that.

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Quantitative PCR assessment of Lotmaria passim in Apis mellifera colonies co-infected naturally with Nosema ceranae

Cited by 46 publications

References 40 publications

Characterisation of the British honey bee metagenome

Characterisation of the British honey bee metagenome

Looking for the causes of and solutions to the issue of honey bee colony losses

Oxidative Stress, Endoparasite Prevalence and Social Immunity in Bee Colonies Kept Traditionally vs. Those Kept for Commercial Purposes

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