View Full Version : Nosema, new questions
LSPender
02-20-2008, 04:42 PM
How does an antibiotic, fumagillian, controll a microsporidan (fungus), further defined as a unicellular parasite ? I have always been under the understanding that antibiotics were to fight bacteria.
I was rereading the definitions on WIKIPEDIA of nosema A & C. and saw under treatment for Nosema A. a product called PROTOFIL which was teasted in Romania and presented to Apimondia. Does anyone have any experiance with or insights on this?
Larry Pender
Gene Weitzel
02-20-2008, 04:58 PM
How does an antibiotic, fumagillian, controll a microsporidan (fungus), further defined as a unicellular parasite ? I have always been under the understanding that antibiotics were to fight bacteria.
I was rereading the definitions on WIKIPEDIA of nosema A & C. and saw under treatment for Nosema A. a product called PROTOFIL which was teasted in Romania and presented to Apimondia. Does anyone have any experiance with or insights on this?
Larry Pender
Here is a link to the Apimondia writeup:
http://www.apimondia.org/apiacta/articles/2004/chioveanu_1.pdf
If you look at the contents of Protofil, you will find it contains extracts from several plants, among which is thymus vulgaris (the source plant for thymol).
My understanding is that the antibiotic, fumagillian, only controls the Nosema as its in its active state of growth, the sprores are unaffected by the treatment. A treatment of funagillian only goes as far as to delay the eruption of the infection. And with Nosema A, it proved useful as the bees were able to hold on til spring, when they could help themselves releave the Nosema during good flight.
But with Nosema C, they are suggesting further treatment in spring, to further aid the bees, becasue they cant releave themselves as easily on Nosema C as they could with A.
In my eye this could present a huge problem with residues. It would be very important to have a spring time treatment that gets completely used up within the early spring period.
It also is going to make our operational cost rise quit a bit.
Michael Bush
02-23-2008, 02:23 PM
It interferes with methionine aminopeptidase 2 utilization. Probably not that enlightening, but that's how it works. :)