Impact of Nosema ceranae and Paenibacillus larvae on Gut Bacterial Communities of Western Honey Bees Apis mellifera Linnaeus, 1758

Abstract

In Thailand, apiculture is mostly located in northern region. The honey bee, Apis mellifera, is critical for the pollination of many economically important crops. There are various factors contributing to honey bee decline including microbial pathogen. Nosema disease and American Foulbrood disease are the most microbial pathogens propagating their function in gut of honey bee. This study investigates the impact of gut propagation pathogens including P. larvae and N. ceranae on bacterial communities in gut of A. mellifera using 454-pyrosequencing. Pyrosequencing results showed that N. ceranae play an important role elimination of Microvirgula and Pseudomonas in adult honey bee gut while P. larvae infecting larvae had a considerable effect on the decrease of Gluconacetobacter. On the other hand, Pseudomonas was found only in the gut of P. larvae larvae. The results indicated that P. larvae and N. ceranae have an impact on some bacteria in gut of A. mellifera, not only by elimination of gut bacteria but also allowing some bacterial infection in honey bee gut. However, these pathogens did not effect on dominant bacteria in bee gut.