Nosema apis infection in worker and queen Apis mellifera

Abstract

-Worker and queen honey bees were fed individually with Nosema apis spores in sucrose solution and then returned to cages containing several hundred of their worker bee nestmates. After 3 to 7 days, the workers and queens that had been fed spores were sacrificed. Worker and queen ventriculi were removed and examined for spores by light microscopy, and DNA was extracted. The DNA was subjected to amplification with polymerase chain reaction, using primer sequences specific to N. apis DNA. The PCR analysis was more sensitive than examination for spores by light microscopy, in detecting N. apis infection. Worker bees and queen bees were infected at similar rates by the inoculation procedure.Apis mellifera / Nosema apis / PCR / queen / worker

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

“…The cited authors have suggested that the above resulted from the absence of sporulation and spore deposition in the intestine for long periods of time. Undigested spores have flexible walls, and they are resistant to DNA extraction (Webster et al 2004). The results of this study support the above theory.…”

“…The above authors investigated 78 Eastern honey bee specimens to conclude that 71% samples were invaded by Nosema ceranae, 19% samples were affected by a mixed infection, and 31% samples -by Nosema apis spores (Chen et al 2009b). Webster et al (2004) studied worker bees in late autumn to determine their ability to transfer parasitic spores to queen bees. Although Nosema apis spores were observed under a light microscope in specimens infected with nosemosis as well as in the intestines of worker bees and queen bees, they were not found in DNA analyses.…”

Evaluation of the Effectiveness of Selected Treatments of Nosema Spp. Infection by the Hemocytometric Method and Duplex Pcr

“…In worker bees, microsporidian infections inhibit the development of hypopharyngeal glands that secrete royal jelly, thus disrupting the feeding of queens and the brood [5]. N. apis infections shorten the lifespan of worker bees and queen bees, leading to ovarian damage and infertility in queens [6]. The disease lowers honey production and can reduce brood by even 50%.…”

The physical, insemination, and reproductive quality of honey bee queens (Apis mellifera L.)

“…While honey bees are hosts to a wide variety of parasites and pathogens (Schmid-Hempel, 1998), only a subset tend to infect queen bees. The more notable parasites of queens are tracheal mites Acarapis woodi (Burgett and Kitprasert, 1992;Camazine et al, 1998;Villa and Danka, 2005), the gut protozoan Nosema apis (Webster et al, 2004(Webster et al, , 2008 and, presumably, N. ceranae (Higes et al, 2006(Higes et al, , 2008. Moreover, queens may be infected with numerous viruses (Chen et al, 2005;Yang and Cox-Foster, 2005), including acute bee paralysis virus (ABPV), chronic bee paralysis virus (CBPV), black queen cell virus (BQCV), deformed wing virus (DWV), Kashmir bee virus (KBV), sacbrood virus (SBV), and Israeli acute paralysis virus (IAPV).…”