Pathological effects of the microsporidium Nosema ceranae on honey bee queen physiology (Apis mellifera)

Alaux, Cédric; Folschweiller, Morgane; McDonnell, Cynthia M.; Beslay, Dominique; Cousin, Marianne; Dussaubat, Claudia; Brunet, Jean-Luc; Conte, Yves Le

doi:10.1016/j.jip.2010.12.005

Cited by 102 publications

(86 citation statements)

References 55 publications

(64 reference statements)

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“…To our knowledge, TAC has thus far been measured only in homogenates of whole brood/ pupae and honeybee extracts (Farjan et al 2012(Farjan et al , 2014 or body segments (whole abdomens of honeybee queen (Alaux et al 2011), head and thorax of foragers and nurse (Williams et al 2008). The values of TAC measurements in whole-body homogenate or segments are limited because the specific origin of antioxidant protection cannot be defined.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Total antioxidant capacity of honeybee haemolymph in relation to age and exposure to pesticide, and comparison to antioxidant capacity of seminal plasma

et al. 2015

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-Oxidative stress is defined as a disturbance in the balance between the production of reactive oxygen species and antioxidant defences. We measured total antioxidant capacity (TAC) in honeybee haemolymph and seminal plasma and analysed TAC of haemolymph in relation to age and exposure to pesticide. TAC of haemolymph increased with age of bees (1.18 vs 1.97 mM of (±)-6-hydroxy-2,5,7,8-tetramethylchromane-2-carboxylic acid (Trolox) for 1-and 30-day-old bees, respectively, P ≤0.05). Exposure to imidacloprid (IMD) affected TAC of haemolymph of 1-day-old but not 30-day-old honeybees. TAC in haemolymph of 1-day-old bees was lower in treatments with the addition of 5 and 200 ppb IMD (1.57-1.46 mM of Trolox in treated bees compared with 2.37 mM of Trolox in controls; P ≤0.05). In conclusion, antioxidant protection of honeybees seems to be related to age and may be disturbed by exposure to IMD. Older bees with higher antioxidant protection seem to be less susceptible to IMD toxicity. The toxic effect of pesticide seems to be particularly dangerous in early life stages of honeybees.Apis mellifera / total antioxidant capacity / haemolymph / ageing / pesticide

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Total antioxidant capacity of honeybee haemolymph in relation to age and exposure to pesticide, and comparison to antioxidant capacity of seminal plasma

et al. 2015

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“…Although the queen is very susceptible to the disease, she may frequently remain immune to the infection in a diseased colony (Fyg, 1961), but the queens of colonies highly affected by the disease resulted in infection with spores too (Vecchi, 1972). In most cases, young queens are not capable of surviving a high level of Nosema (Alaux et al, 2011;Traver and Fell, 2012). The enterolith structure was first described by Fyg (1961), who also observed an accumulation of faeces and a considerable enlargement of the hind gut and stated that enterolithes are formed primarily on the rectal epithelium which the enteroliths are connected to by a short stalk.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Survey of the Health Status of Some Honey Bee Queens in Italy

Porporato

Grillone

Patetta

et al. 2015

Journal of Apicultural Science

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A b s t r a c t While observing: non-acceptance, frequent replacements, and reduced performance in honey bee (Apis mellifera ligustica) queens, we were induced to analyse a certain number of queens to detect the causes. For this purpose, 99 newly mated queens were bought from 20 Italian queen breeders. In addition, 109 older or at-the-end-of-their-career queens, that showed poor productivity, were collected from honey production hives throughout Italy. All the queens were dissected to check the status of their reproductive system and/or the presence of various anomalies and diseases. Anatomical and functional anomalies, pertaining to ovaries and spermatheca, also in association with tissue alterations and microorganisms like Nosema spp. and protozoa, were common in both newly mated and older queens, but they were more prevalent in the latter. Observed differences permitted us to highlight the causes of the reduced performance of the queens and of the colonies they originated from. The obtained information could prove useful when it comes to improving queen breeding techniques.

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“…In this context, the honey bee is an important model as several studies have reported the influence of parasites on bee behaviours. For example, parasites can induce an increase in resin collection at the colony level for potential self-medication (Simone-Finstrom and Spivak, 2012;Popova et al, 2014) and an alteration of pheromone production important in social communication Alaux et al, 2011). Immune stimulation alone (without the negative effect of parasites) can also modify social interaction Richard et al, 2012).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Parasitic and immune-modulation of flight activity in honey bees tracked with optical counters

Alaux¹,

Crauser²,

Pioz³

et al. 2014

Journal of Experimental Biology

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Host-parasite interactions are often characterized by changes in the host behaviour, which are beneficial to either the parasite or the host, or are a non-adaptive byproduct of parasitism. These interactions are further complicated in animal society because individual fitness is associated with group performance. However, a better understanding of host-parasite interaction in animal society first requires the identification of individual host behavioural modification. Therefore, we challenged honey bee (Apis mellifera) workers with the parasite Nosema ceranae or an immune stimulation and tracked their flight activity over their lifetime with an optic counter. We found that bees responded differently to each stress: both Nosema-infected and immune-challenged bees performed a lower number of daily flights compared with control bees, but the duration of their flights increased and decreased over time, respectively. Overall, parasitized bees spent more time in the field each day than control bees, and the inverse was true for immune-challenged bees. Despite the stress of immune challenge, bees had a survival similar to that of control bees likely because of their restricted activity. We discuss how those different behavioural modifications could be adaptive phenotypes. This study provides new insights into how biological stress can affect the behaviour of individuals living in society and how host responses have evolved.

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Pathological effects of the microsporidium Nosema ceranae on honey bee queen physiology (Apis mellifera)

Cited by 102 publications

References 55 publications

Total antioxidant capacity of honeybee haemolymph in relation to age and exposure to pesticide, and comparison to antioxidant capacity of seminal plasma

Total antioxidant capacity of honeybee haemolymph in relation to age and exposure to pesticide, and comparison to antioxidant capacity of seminal plasma

Survey of the Health Status of Some Honey Bee Queens in Italy

Parasitic and immune-modulation of flight activity in honey bees tracked with optical counters

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