BEE-L Archives

Informed Discussion of Beekeeping Issues and Bee Biology

BEE-L@COMMUNITY.LSOFT.COM

Options: Use Monospaced Font
Show Text Part by Default
Show All Mail Headers

Message: [<< First] [< Prev] [Next >] [Last >>]
Topic: [<< First] [< Prev] [Next >] [Last >>]
Author: [<< First] [< Prev] [Next >] [Last >>]

Print Reply
Subject:
From:
Reply To:
Informed Discussion of Beekeeping Issues and Bee Biology <[log in to unmask]>
Date:
Tue, 18 Nov 2008 03:49:03 GMT
Content-Type:
text/plain
Parts/Attachments:
text/plain (28 lines)
my apologies peter (and all), i seem to have misstated things wrt the research of terramicyn and chalkbrood.  

with that said, the bacillus bacteria do seem to have a role in fighting chalkbrood.  it's hard to imagine that antibiotics don't have an impact on this.

in quoting you (quoting martha gilliam):

-- "Peter L Borst" <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
> "A secondary mechanism of resistance is the addition during pollen collection and storage by bees of antagonistic molds and Bacillus spp. that inhibit the pathogen. Bee colonies that are resistant or tolerant have more of these antagonists. Antimycotic substances active against A. apis were not produced by bees, larvae, bee bread, or honey. However, bee bread and the guts of worker bees, the major sources of the pathogen, were the primary sources of the antagonistic microorganisms. Thus, the antimycotic substances were produced by microorganisms that originated in worker bee intestines. These microorganisms were added to pollen by the bees."

...is this what we generally think of as hygienic behavior?  the use of microbes (present in the gut of the worker bees, inoculating the beebread) to fight other pathogens (chalkbrood in this case)?  i thought hygienic  behavior  was about the bees removing debris from the hive?  this seems quite different.

it is hard to imagine that antibiotics, and/or broadly effective antimicrobials (like organic acids) don't have an effect on this process.

the links i provided did discuss bacilli as being antagonistic towards chalkbrood (i think this is what the above quote is referring to, no? and we know that fumidil is produced by the stonebrood fungus).  is this a case of not enough research?  incomplete research?  i don't know....but i find it hard to imagine that such treatments don't have a negative impact on these organisms that have a negative impact on chalkbrood.  what are your thoughts?

it still seems to me like a complex adaptive system that would be difficult to manipulate via chemical/antimicrobial inputs with predictable (and positive from the beekeepers perspective) results over the long term.

it's also worth noting that tobias et al (as referenced before) found bacilli and other bacteria in the honey stomachs of worker bees that would have been hard to isolate previously (and in fact, were never found before, and in fact, were found in areas like the honey stomach that previously weren't thought to host any bacteria)...as the newer dna analysis technology will show bacteria that are not easily (or cannot) be cultured.

deknow

deknow

****************************************************
* General Information About BEE-L is available at: *
* http://www.honeybeeworld.com/bee-l/default.htm   *
****************************************************

ATOM RSS1 RSS2