Lotmaria passim currently appears to be the predominant trypanosome in honey bees worldwide. Although, the specific effects of L. passim by single or mixed with other gut parasites such as Nosema ceranae on honey bees’ health is still unclear. We consequently measured bees’ survival, parasite loads, the expression of antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) and vitellogenin gene. Thus, (1) bees naturally infected with L. passim, (2) healthy bees inoculated with Nosema ceranae, (3) bees naturally infected with L. passim and inoculated with N. ceranae and (4) healthy bees (control) were maintained under controlled conditions. Honey bees infected with N. ceranae or with mixed infections of L. passim and N. ceranae had significantly lower survival rates than the control group at 20 days post-inoculation (dpi). A competitive suppression was also detected, provided that the L. passim load was significantly affected by the presence of N. ceranae at 15 dpi. Expressions of the AMPs defensin and hymenoptaecin rapidly (two hours post-inoculation) increased in bees infected with N. ceranae and mixed infections. However, this effect was not continuous. In fact, expressions of abaecin, defensin, hymenoptaecin and vitellogenin decreased drastically at 15 dpi in bees with both single and mixed infections. The decrease in the expression of AMPs and vitellogenin throughout this period was consistent with the reduced survivals observed in this study, indicating that mixed infections of L. passim and N. ceranae, and even into a scenario of competition between them, may have a synergic effect on the survival and immune-related gene expressions (biomarkers) of worker bees.
Deformed wing virus (DWV) is one of the most common viruses in apiaries worldwide, and its presence in Chilean apiaries is no exception. There are three well-defined master variants described as DWV-A, DWV-B (or VDV-1) and DWV-C. We studied the prevalence, load and recombinant genotypes among DWV variants in honey bees from Chilean apiaries. We also compared the viral load in each region in colonies that were treated or untreated against Varroa destructor. Using real-time PCR with specific primers enabled us to determine that DWV-A was the most prevalent (71%) throughout Chile, with a higher level than DWV-B (circa 3% prevalence), and almost 60-times more load, especially in northern Chile. The viral load was lower only in treated colonies located in the Metropolitana, Biobío/Ñuble and Los Ríos regions. The DWV-C genotype and recombinants were not detected. This suggests that viral recombinant events are limited since DWV-B is still uncommon in honey bee hives at present. This is the first study involving DWV-B in Chile.
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