Experimental evidence of harmful effects of Crithidia mellificae and Lotmaria passim on honey bees.

Experimental evidence of harmful effects of Crithidia mellificae and Lotmaria passim on honey bees. Int J Parasitol. 2020 Aug 18;: Authors: Gómez-Moracho T, Buendía-Abad M, Benito M, García-Palencia P, Barrios L, Bartolomé C, Maside X, Meana A, Dolores Jiménez-Antón M, Isabel Olías-Molero A, María Alunda J, Martín-Hernández R, Higes M Abstract The trypanosomatids Crithidia mellificae and Lotmaria passim are very prevalent in honey bee colonies and potentially contribute to colony losses that currently represent a serious threat to honey bees. However, potential pathogenicity of these trypanosomatids remains unclear and since studies of infection are scarce, there is little information about the virulence of their different morphotypes. Hence, we first cultured C. mellificae and L. passim (ATCC reference strains) in six different culture media to analyse their growth rates and to obtain potentially infective morphotypes. Both C. mellificae and L. passim grew in five of the media tested, with the exception of M199. These trypanosomatids multiplied fastest in BHI medium, in which they reached a stationary phase after around 96 h of growth. Honey bees inoculated with either Crithidia or Lotmaria died faster than control bees and their mortality was highest when they were inoculated with 96 h cultured L. passim. Histological and Electron Microscopy analyses revealed flagellated morphotypes of Crithidia and Lotmaria in the lumen ...
Source: International Journal for Parasitology - Category: Parasitology Authors: Tags: Int J Parasitol Source Type: research