>
> > There is also an opinion that the grease (extender) patties
> played a role in
> > resistance by keeping the bacteria exposed to terramycin
> for an extended
> > period.
>
> Although it is true that this rumour has been circulating,
> and even become a
> popular 'truth', it is also true that there is absolutely no
> evidence to back it
> up.
>

If the resistance to TM is the result of a new mutation in the bacteria then
low dosage exposure is not going to have anything to do with spreading the
new DNA around. In fact neither will high dosage exposure.

If the resistance to TM is the result of an old mutation and the low dosage
of TM is causing selection for the trait then those using the extender
methods should see a high level of TM resistance. This does not seem to be
the case.

I thought of another model. If the extender were to be compared to a wolf
then you are putting one or two in the forest among the deer year round. The
population is controlled with the weak getting it first and some of the
strong getting unlucky as well. The deer continue to compete amongst
themselves for resources and the wolves keep any from becoming too
successful. The deer population remains diverse and open to control by wolf.

Hitting the population with a strong dose of wolves would drop the
population of deer where only the very best have any chance of survival. Now
your breeding population is made up of only wolf-resistant deer and since
the new population is so low there is little competition for the resources.
The deer population may now explode as the wolf is no longer a factor.

Here is some additional thoughts. Let us guess that in a normal hive
environment there are several thousand types of bacteria. Putting in a broad
spectrum antibiotic like TM is going to kill off lots of harmless bacteria
(harmless to bees but not harmless to other bacteria). The resulting
survivors are going to be those that did not get hit by the TM, in this case
the AFB in spore form. When these spores wake up they may well find themself
in an environment where they have lots of resources due to the removal of
other bacteria.