How apicultural practices and Nosema ceranae affect individual honeybee health?

P.M. GARRIDO; KARINA ANTÚNEZ; PORRINI M. P.; MARÍA BELÉN BRANCHICCELA; GISELLE MARÍA ASTRID MARTÍNEZ NOEL; PABLO ZUNINO; MARTÍN JAVIER EGUARAS

Londres

Conferencia; The Impact of Pesticides on bee health conference. Joint meeting of The Biochemical Society, Society for Experimental Biology and the British Ecological Society; 2014

Biochemical Society, Society for Experimental Biology and the British Ecological Society

Honey beecolonies are exposed to pesticides used in agriculture or within bee hives bybeekeeper intervention. The organophosphate coumaphos and the pyrethroidtau-fluvalinate are widely used to control Varroa destructor. Theseacaricides are applied directly to bee hives, accumulate in wax and had been detectedeven in commercial bee wax foundation. Nosemosis caused by Nosema ceranaeis one of the most prevalent and pathogenic disease that affect adult honeybees.Interactive effects between N. ceranaeand sublethal dosis of these acaricides (at concentrations found in honey) on immunerelated genes were assessed. In order to allow honeybee development under afree-acaricide environment, plastic foundation was used and bees drawn out thefoundation. Gene expression changes in nurse bees were measured using qPCR. This work demonstrates that chronicexposure with tau-fluvalinate significantly reduced the transcription of genes encodingthe antimicrobian peptides abaecin and hymenoptaecin. Coumaphos decreasedvitellogenin and lysozyme expression and, in combination with N. ceranae infection, reduced levels ofabaecin and enhance phenoloxidase transcripts. Only defensin and glucose dehydrogenasegenes were not altered by the different treatments. Immune response atindividual level and susceptibility to pathogens may be compromised whenhoneybees are exposed not only to sublethal doses of acaricides but N. ceranae infection and theirinteractive effects.