Nosema causes CCD? New research published

[buckbee]

I have no idea how 'authentic' this is, but it might raise some questions about the routine use of antibiotics by many beekeepers (probably nearly all commercial beekeepers) as a prophylactic treatment for nosema.


To see this story with its related links on the Guardian Unlimited site, go to http://www.guardian.co.uk/science/2007/sep/12/spain

Spanish scientists accuse Asian parasite of beehive genocide
Giles Tremlett in Madrid
Wednesday September 12 2007
The Guardian


Scientists in Spain believe they have found the killer parasite that is responsible for wiping out bee colonies from California to Cannes.

The assassin, they believe, is Nosema ceranae, an Asian parasite which has worked its way into hives across Europe and America, wreaking terrible damage on the bees' internal organs.

It is a close cousin of Nosema apis, which has lived in relative harmony with bees in Europe and elsewhere for centuries. However, the new variety of Nosema is hardier than the old one, and so continues to thrive under harsh weather conditions. "It does not care whether it rains or whether it is more or less hot," said researcher Mariano Higes. It also spreads easily and rapidly.

The scientists at the Regional Apiculture Centre in Marchamalo, near the central Spanish city of Guadalajara, said the discovery opened the way to discovering ways of controlling and eradicating the pest.

Mr Higes said that a wave of what is known as colony collapse disorder, which has wiped out hives across two continents, may also be due to other factors, but that Nosema was a key cause. "We think that Nosema ceranae could do it alone," he said.

The results of the Spanish research, carried out on samples from Germany, Spain, Switzerland and France, are due to be published in the next edition of the journal Invertebrate Microbiology.

The team has also been studying samples sent from the US, where colony collapse disorder has hit 35 states and affected up to 875,000 out of 2.4 million hives. The disorder, which has also wiped out bees in Canada, Brazil, India and Europe, kills up to 90% of bees in each hive.

A significant collapse in the worldwide bee population could threaten food supplies as bees pollinate 90 crops around the world.

Scientists in the US have previously suggested that Nosema ceranae might be to blame, but the Spanish researchers insist that their work provides harder evidence. In particular, Mr Higes said he believed that theories blaming pesticides were being exaggerated.

Wilder theories in the US have blamed everything from an al-Qaida plot to mobile phones.

In Britain, the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra), has insisted that recent bee losses are not a sign of colony collapse disorder but the work of the varroa mite, which eats bees and their larvae.

Copyright Guardian Newspapers Limited 2007

[Erik T]

Interesting article. Kind of goes against what the US researchers came up with and is in line with Jim Fisher's papers.

I thought most of the CCD losses were with comercial/migratory beeks. Don't they already treat for nosema?

Should everyone be treating for nosema?

[buckbee]

I thought most of the CCD losses were with comercial/migratory beeks. Don't they already treat for nosema?

Should everyone be treating for nosema?

Commercial beekeepers have been routinely applying antibiotics as a prophylactic treatment for nosema, without ever bother to check if they have nosema in the first place. This just has to be a recipe for creating immunity to antibiotics in nosema by selection: you kill off the nosema that is susceptible to antibiotics and leave the resistant ones to reproduce.

Now let me see, where have I heard a similar story before... oh yes, substitute 'varroa' for 'nosema' and 'fluvalinate' for 'antibiotic' and the story is remarkably similar!

When will we ever learn?

Chemicals are NOT the answer to healthy bees.

[Erik T]

True. I'd rather not use antibiotics if they aren't needed.

I'm just suprised that commercial beeks who do/did treat with antibiotics for nosema ended up with CCD. The same CCD that this article claims is caused by nosema.

[buckbee]

Because this is a new strain of nosema -

"The assassin, they believe, is Nosema ceranae, an Asian parasite which has worked its way into hives across Europe and America, wreaking terrible damage on the bees' internal organs.

It is a close cousin of Nosema apis, which has lived in relative harmony with bees in Europe and elsewhere for centuries. However, the new variety of Nosema is hardier than the old one, and so continues to thrive under harsh weather conditions."

[Dave W]

Here is the "latest" nosema info I have seen:

Nosema ceranae has been ruled out as the root cause for CCD [BC, 5/07, p12]. A survey of N. cerana prevalence in the U.S. has found the parasite to be widespread and to be in samples collected as far back as 2000 [BC, 7/07, p14].

[buckbee]

[QUOTE=Dave W;263745]Here is the "latest" nosema info I have seen:

[BC, 5/07, p12].

Is that May 2007 or July 2005?

[aszalan]

The results of the Spanish research, carried out on samples from Germany, Spain, Switzerland and France, are due to be published in the next edition of the journal Invertebrate Microbiology.

never heard of the journal Invertebrate Microbiology, unlike the Journal of Invertebrate Pathology which is a well known journal.

[Dave W]

buckbee . . .

Bee Culture, May 2007 and July 2007.

[Jim Fischer]

The guys in Spain were NOT addressing "CCD".

They were addressing the problem of Nosema ceranae, which appears to
be more virulent in Europe than in the USA.

That said, Nosema has NOT been ruled out as a major factor in CCD,
and it matters not a bit who might claim that it has been ruled out.

If you look at the data published in the journal "Science", it becomes
clear that Nosema of both types, "apis" and "ceranae", was found in
100% of tested "CCD" colonies. While one type or the other was
found in both "CCD" and "healthy" colonies, those colonies with
BOTH types at the same time were doomed.

Nosema was an early-identified candidate as a significant contributor
to the CCD problem, and no one has published any data to "rule out"
these pathogens as contributing factors.

Long story short, the downside of treating for nosema is nill, there
is no resistance, the same treatment will kill both kinds of nosema
dead, and the stuff is not that expensive. Odds are that your hives
have one or the other, and neither is a good thing.

[Mike Gillmore]

Nosema was an early-identified candidate as a significant contributor
to the CCD problem, and no one has published any data to "rule out"
these pathogens as contributing factors.

I suspect it is a contributing factor as well... the symptoms are eerily similar. Why has it been passed over and pushed onto the back burner? Or has it?

[sierrabees]

I think most of the "experts" are leaning away from the idea of a single causative factor and toward the concept that we are seeing the cumulative effect of multiple factors. Unless a researcher can identify a single cause, locate a significant number of colonies that have none of the other variables, and show that these collonies will produce the same symptoms when exposed to the agent, they have no right to claim they have identifed the primary cause of CCD. The presence of a pathogen in all effected collonies does not determine whether the pathogen caused the disease or was merely an opportunist in the weakened colonies. There is still a long way to go unless this problem resolves it'self before we find out.

[buckbee]

Long story short, the downside of treating for nosema is nill, there
is no resistance, the same treatment will kill both kinds of nosema
dead, and the stuff is not that expensive. Odds are that your hives
have one or the other, and neither is a good thing.

So are you saying that it is not possible for either form of nosema to develop resistance to antibiotics? When it is known that almost everything else can and does?

[Jim Fischer]

> So are you saying that it is not possible for either form of Nosema to
> develop resistance to antibiotics?

Yes, that is exactly the track record of Fumagillin.
Its been used for a loooong time, and the Nosema has not evolved
any form of resistance. Perhaps this is more due to the short lifespan
of bees (and the shorter lifespan of bees with Nosema) than anything else.

> When it is known that almost everything else can and does?

Everything else is more complex. Much much more complex.
We used to call the little Nosema "animal" a "single-celled protozoan",
but now the beastie has been recently reclassified to be a fungi. Yes,
it is such a simple creature, that it is not even considered a creature,
but instead, nothing but a fungus amongus.

I don't think it is a complex enough thing to mutate and still survive.
There is very little room for variation in simple creatures/plants like
this one. Most variation means something that does not survive.

Sure, Nosema COULD someday develop resistance somehow, but to do
that, some of them have to survive treatment long enough to reproduce,
and somehow out-perform the standard Nosema well enough to
become prevalent, and somehow spread.

[buckbee]

Thanks Jim.
So does Fumigillin not also kill N. cerana?

[Jim Fischer]

> So does Fumigillin not also kill N. cerana?

Fumagillin kills both kinds of Nosema dead as a doornail when
used as directed. Kim Flottum did a longish article on N. ceranae
this spring, and Eric Mussen has been talking about Nosema for
years and years.

Use it, and you'll see hives that you might have requeened due
to "slow growth" just take off and boom. Odds are all your
hives have Nosema, given the data being collected these days
on how widespread the problem is. But send some bees in and
get a quick test done, just to be sure.

[JBJ]

Thanks for the info Jim. I would like to know the taxonomic name of the two fungi that cause nosema? I am glad to hear that fumagillin is effective against N cerana, I had heard some debate as to it efficacy.

Seeing as how these critters are fungi after all, there may be some other control tactics possible. Personally, up to this point, I have always regarded Nosema as a soft disease, that could be handled by good bees and good beekeeping practices. Maybe I just have been lucky, but I have not used fumagillin in over 10 years and rarely see minor cases, despite our long cold wet winters. Keeping the inside of the hive dry and providing an exit for warm moist air and clean feed seem to be the keys.

[Michael Bush]

Nosema is not fungi. It is a protozoan called Nosema apis.

[JBJ]

"We used to call the little Nosema "animal" a "single-celled protozoan",
but now the beastie has been recently reclassified to be a fungi. Yes,
it is such a simple creature, that it is not even considered a creature,
but instead, nothing but a fungus amongus." Jim Fischer

Michael B it sounds like it may have been reclassified. That is why am interested in its updated taxonomy. Reclassification of an organism happens periodically, especially in light of many of our new genomic tools that were not present when many organisms were initially classified.

[JBJ]

http://books.google.com/books?id=bTu...JLnkQ#PPT79,M1

Looks like Jim is on to something here as per usual. Sounds like several species of protozoa are now being reclassified as microsporidia, a simple fungus and obligated parasite I believe. What will molecular phylogentic analysis come up with next? This begs the question what will the new taxonomic name be? This should mean that there may some other treatments possible.