Molecular detection of Bee Pathogens in Honey

P. REVAINERA; G. FERNÁNDEZ DE LANDA; C. GARCÍA IZA; E. OLIVERA; G. FUENTES; S. MEDICI1,; S. PLISCHUK; S. RUFFINENGO; M. EGUARAS; S. QUINTANA; S. FUSELLI

Congreso; XXI Reunión anual de la SAB; 2019

Honey bees have a wide variety of parasites and pathogens associated with their nests. One of them, the causative agent of the American foulbrood, Paenibacillus larvae, was previously found in bee honey. Considering that other spore-forming microorganisms are expected to remain latent in honey, the presence of, at least, microsporidia, spore-forming bacteria, and viruses protected by peptide structures might represent a threat. Parasites and pathogens that affect honey bees health seem to play a major role in the worldwide decline of pollinators, therefore their detection in honey could be used to prevent the spread of diseases among colonies. Honey from 57 apiaries located in Buenos Aires, Córdoba, Corrientes, Entre Ríos, Formosa, La Rioja, Neuquén, Río Negro and Santa Fe was collected between March and October, 2012. DNA was extracted from the pellet obtained by centrifugation of 10 g. of honey samples and amplified by qPCR. PCR products were purified, sequenced and analysed using BLAST software. Honey from every apiary contained DNA of at least one pathogen, with a high occurrence of Apis mellifera Filamentous Virus (96.5%) and the neogregarine Apicystis bombi (75.5%). A lower proportion of samples were positive for Nosema ceranae (51%), P. larvae (44%), and Ascosphaera apis (28%). Here, we report the presence of DNA of several bee pathogens in honey from commercial apiaries, and provide a fast and efficient screening method that could be useful to estimate pathogen presence in apiaries.