For your information:
http://www.plosone.org/article/info%3Adoi%2F10.1371%2Fjournal.pone.0072443
Abstract
Since the last decade, unusually high honey bee colony losses have been
reported mainly in North-America and Europe. Here, we report on a
comprehensive bee pathogen screening in Belgium covering 363 bee colonies
that were screened for 18 known disease-causing pathogens and correlate
their incidence in summer with subsequent winter mortality. Our analyses
demonstrate that, in addition to Varroa destructor, the presence of the
trypanosomatid parasite Crithidia mellificae and the microsporidian parasite
Nosema ceranae in summer are also predictive markers of winter mortality,
with a negative synergy being observed between the two in terms of their
effects on colony mortality. Furthermore, we document the first occurrence
of a parasitizing phorid fly in Europe, identify a new fourth strain of Lake
Sinai Virus (LSV), and confirm the presence of other little reported
pathogens such as Apicystis bombi, Aphid Lethal Paralysis Virus (ALPV),
Spiroplasma apis, Spiroplasma melliferum and Varroa destructor Macula-like
Virus (VdMLV). Finally, we provide evidence that ALPV and VdMLV replicate in
honey bees and show that viruses of the LSV complex and Black Queen Cell
Virus tend to non-randomly co-occur together. We also noticed a significant
correlation between the number of pathogen species and colony losses.
Overall, our results contribute significantly to our understanding of honey
bee diseases and the likely causes of their current decline in Europe.
Citation: Ravoet J, Maharramov J, Meeus I, De Smet L, Wenseleers T, et al.
(2013) Comprehensive Bee Pathogen Screening in Belgium Reveals Crithidia
mellificae as a New Contributory Factor to Winter Mortality.
PLoS ONE 8(8): e72443. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0072443
Editor: Yi Li, Wuhan Bioengineering Institute, China
Received: May 28, 2013; Accepted: July 9, 2013; Published: August 26, 2013
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