High prevalence and infection levels of Nosema ceranae in bumblebees Bombus atratus and Bombus bellicosus from Uruguay (original) (raw)
Related papers
Environmental Microbiology Reports, 2009
As pollination is a critical process in both humanmanaged and natural terrestrial ecosystems, pollinators provide essential services to both nature and humans. Pollination is mainly due to the action of different insects, such as the bumblebee and the honeybee. These important ecological and economic roles have led to widespread concern over the recent decline in pollinator populations that has been detected in many regions of the world. While this decline has been attributed in some cases to changes in the use of agricultural land, the effects of parasites could play a significant role in the reduction of these populations. For the first time, we describe here the presence of Nosema ceranae, an emerging honeybee pathogen, in three species of Argentine native bumblebees. A total of 455 bumblebees belonging to six species of genus Bombus were examined. PCR results showed that three of the species are positive to N. ceranae (Bombus atratus, Bombus morio and Bombus bellicosus). We discuss the appearance of this pathogen in the context of the population decline of this pollinators.
Presence of Nosema ceranae in honeybees ( Apis mellifera) in Uruguay
Journal of Invertebrate Pathology, 2009
The microsporidium Nosema ceranae is an emergent pathogen of European honeybees 12 Apis mellifera. Using a PCR-RFLP diagnosis, 29 samples of infected honeybees 13 obtained in 2007-2008 (N = 26), 2004 (N = 2) and before 1990 (N = 1) were analyzed to 14 test for the presence of Nosema apis and Nosema ceranae. Only N. ceranae was found 15 in all samples, indicating that this species dispersed to Uruguay (and likely the region) 16 at some time before 1990. The presence of N. ceranae in Uruguay is not associated with 17 an increase of Nosemosis, and its role in colony loss seems to be irrelevant. 18 19
Nosema ceranae in South American Native Stingless Bees and Social Wasp
Microbial Ecology, 2017
Besides the incipient research effort, the role of parasites as drivers of the reduction affecting pollinator populations is mostly unknown. Given the worldwide extension of the beekeeping practice and the diversity of pathogens affecting Apis mellifera populations, honey bee colonies are a certain source of parasite dispersion to other species. Here, we communicate the detection of the microsporidium Nosema ceranae, a relatively new parasite of honey bees, in stingless bees (Meliponini) and the social wasp Polybia scutellaris (Vespidae) samples from Argentina and Brazil by means of duplex PCR. Beyond the geographic location of the nests, N. ceranae was detected in seven from the eight Meliponini species analyzed, while Nosema apis, another common parasite of A. mellifera, was absent in all samples tested. Further research is necessary to determine if the presence of the parasite is also associated with established infection in host tissues. The obtained information enriches the current knowledge about pathologies that can infect or, at least, be vectored by native wild pollinators from South America.
Revista de Chimie
Until now, in Romania, a country in southeastern Europe located on the Balkans Peninsula, information regarding the status on A. mellifera honey bee infection by Nosema spp. has not been published. The aims of the present study were to survey the occurrence and identification of Nosema spp. in A. mellifera honeybee colonies from 37 apiaries located in Arad, Caras-Severin and Timis Counties, Romania. Also, based on published literature an update on the distribution of N. ceranae infection among A. mellifera colonies worldwide was performed. Overall, a frequency of 55.1% (389/690) of Nosema infection was observed in the analyzed regions (ranging from 52% to 66%), by light microscopy. By PCR and DNA sequencing, N. ceranae was the only microsporidia identified. Nosema ceranae is clearly a novel, emergent pathogen of A.mellifera with potentially very serious effects on the individual and honeybee�s colonies in Romania. Data obtained provide new and important information on N. ceranae geo...
Journal of Invertebrate Pathology, 2013
Until the mid-1990s, the only microsporidium known to infect bees of the genus Apis was Nosema apis. A second species, Nosema ceranae, was first identified in 1996 from Asian honey bees; it is postulated that this parasite was transmitted from the Asian honey bee, Apis cerana, to the European honey bee, Apis mellifera. Currently, N. ceranae is found on all continents and has often been associated with honey bee colony collapse and other reports of high bee losses. Samples of Africanized drones collected in 1979, preserved in alcohol, were analyzed by light microscopy to count spores and were subjected to DNA extraction, after which duplex PCR was conducted. All molecular analyses (triplicate) indicated that the drones were infected with both N. ceranae and N. apis. PCR products were sequenced and matched to sequences reported in the GenBank (Acc. Nos. JQ639316.1 and JQ639301.1). The venation pattern of the wings of these males was compared to those of the current population living in the same area and with the pattern of drones collected in 1968 from Ribeirão Preto, SP, Brazil, from a location close to where African swarms first escaped in 1956. The morphometric results indicated that the population collected in 1979 was significantly different from the current living population, confirming its antiquity. Considering that the use of molecular tools for identifying Nosema species is relatively recent, it is possible that previous reports of infections (which used only light microscopy, without ultrastructural analysis) wrongly identified N. ceranae as N. apis. Although we can conclude that N. ceranae has been affecting Africanized honeybees in Brazil for at least 34 years, the impact of this pathogen remains unclear.
First detection and dominance of Nosema ceranae in Hungarian honeybee colonies
Acta Veterinaria Hungarica, 2009
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.
First Identification of Nosema Ceranae (Microsporidia) Infecting Apis Mellifera in Venezuela
Journal of Apicultural Science, 2017
Nosema ceranae is a pathogen of Apis mellifera, which seems to have jumped from its original host Asiatic honey bee Apis ceranae. Nosemosis which affects the honey bee Apis mellifera is caused by two parasitic fungi described as etiologic agents of the disease. Nosema apis was the only microsporidian infection identified in A. mellifera until N. ceranae in Taiwan and Europe. Nosema spp. positive samples of adult worker bees from the Venezuelean state of Lara were determined through light microscopy of spores. Samples were then tested to determine Nosema species (N.apis/N.ceranae) using previously reported PCR primers for the 16S rRNA gene. A multiplex PCR assay was used to differentiate both N. apis and N. ceranae species. Only N. ceranae was found in the analyzed samples and the percentage of infected foragers fluctuated between 18% and 60%.
Journal of Invertebrate Pathology, 2008
Honey bee samples collected between 1995 and 2007 from 12 states were examined for the presence of Nosema infections. Our results showed that Nosema ceranae is a wide-spread infection of the European honey bee, Apis mellifera in the United States. The discovery of N. ceranae in bees collected a decade ago indicates that N. ceranae was transferred from its original host, Apis cerana to A. mellifera earlier than previously recognized. The spread of N. ceranae infection in A. mellifera warrants further epidemiological studies to identify conditions that resulted in such a widespread infection. Published by Elsevier Inc.
2017
The Western honey bee (Apis mellifera) is widely used as commercial pollinator in worldwide agriculture and, therefore, plays an important role in global food security. Among the parasites and pathogens threatening health and survival of honey bees are two species of microsporidia, Nosema apis and Nosema ceranae. Nosema ceranae is considered an emerging pathogen of the Western honey bee. Reports on the spread of N. ceranae suggested that this presumably highly virulent species is replacing its more benign congener N. apis in the global A. mellifera population. We here present a 12 year longitudinal cohort study on the prevalence of N. apis and N. ceranae in Northeast Germany. Between 2005 and 2016, a cohort of about 230 honey bee colonies originating from 23 apiaries was sampled twice a year (spring and autumn) resulting in a total of 5,600 bee samples which were subjected to microscopic and molecular analysis for determining the presence of infections with N. apis or/and N. ceranae...