<i>In Vitro</i> Effects of Pesticides on European Foulbrood in Honeybee Larvae
Neonicotinoid and fungicide exposure has been linked to immunosuppression and increased susceptibility to disease in honeybees (<i>Apis mellifera</i>). European foulbrood, caused by the bacterium <i>Melissococcus plutonius</i>, is a disease of honeybee larvae which causes eco...
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| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2020-04-01
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| Series: | Insects |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2075-4450/11/4/252 |
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| author | Sarah C. Wood Jocelyne C. Chalifour Ivanna V. Kozii Igor Medici de Mattos Colby D. Klein Michael W. Zabrodski Igor Moshynskyy M. Marta Guarna Patricia Wolf Veiga Tasha Epp Elemir Simko |
| author_facet | Sarah C. Wood Jocelyne C. Chalifour Ivanna V. Kozii Igor Medici de Mattos Colby D. Klein Michael W. Zabrodski Igor Moshynskyy M. Marta Guarna Patricia Wolf Veiga Tasha Epp Elemir Simko |
| author_sort | Sarah C. Wood |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Neonicotinoid and fungicide exposure has been linked to immunosuppression and increased susceptibility to disease in honeybees (<i>Apis mellifera</i>). European foulbrood, caused by the bacterium <i>Melissococcus plutonius</i>, is a disease of honeybee larvae which causes economic hardship for commercial beekeepers, in particular those whose colonies pollinate blueberries. We report for the first time in Canada, an atypical variant of <i>M. plutonius</i> isolated from a blueberry-pollinating colony. With this isolate, we used an <i>in vitro</i> larval infection system to study the effects of pesticide exposure on the development of European foulbrood disease. Pesticide doses tested were excessive (thiamethoxam and pyrimethanil) or maximal field-relevant (propiconazole and boscalid). We found that chronic exposure to the combination of thiamethoxam and propiconazole significantly decreased the survival of larvae infected with <i>M. plutonius</i>, while larvae chronically exposed to thiamethoxam and/or boscalid or pyrimethanil did not experience significant increases in mortality from <i>M. plutonius</i> infection <i>in vitro</i>. Based on these results, individual, calculated field-realistic residues of thiamethoxam and/or boscalid or pyrimethanil are unlikely to increase mortality from European foulbrood disease in honeybee worker brood, while the effects of field-relevant exposure to thiamethoxam and propiconazole on larval mortality from European foulbrood warrant further study. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-10T20:25:15Z |
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| id | doaj.art-870584a5a24447968fa6b51e78b8dc11 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2075-4450 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-10T20:25:15Z |
| publishDate | 2020-04-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Insects |
| spelling | doaj.art-870584a5a24447968fa6b51e78b8dc112023-11-19T21:53:47ZengMDPI AGInsects2075-44502020-04-0111425210.3390/insects11040252<i>In Vitro</i> Effects of Pesticides on European Foulbrood in Honeybee LarvaeSarah C. Wood0Jocelyne C. Chalifour1Ivanna V. Kozii2Igor Medici de Mattos3Colby D. Klein4Michael W. Zabrodski5Igor Moshynskyy6M. Marta Guarna7Patricia Wolf Veiga8Tasha Epp9Elemir Simko10Department of Veterinary Pathology, Western College of Veterinary Medicine, University of Saskatchewan, 52 Campus Drive, Saskatoon, SK S7N 5B4, CanadaDepartment of Veterinary Pathology, Western College of Veterinary Medicine, University of Saskatchewan, 52 Campus Drive, Saskatoon, SK S7N 5B4, CanadaDepartment of Veterinary Pathology, Western College of Veterinary Medicine, University of Saskatchewan, 52 Campus Drive, Saskatoon, SK S7N 5B4, CanadaDepartment of Veterinary Pathology, Western College of Veterinary Medicine, University of Saskatchewan, 52 Campus Drive, Saskatoon, SK S7N 5B4, CanadaDepartment of Veterinary Pathology, Western College of Veterinary Medicine, University of Saskatchewan, 52 Campus Drive, Saskatoon, SK S7N 5B4, CanadaDepartment of Veterinary Pathology, Western College of Veterinary Medicine, University of Saskatchewan, 52 Campus Drive, Saskatoon, SK S7N 5B4, CanadaDepartment of Veterinary Pathology, Western College of Veterinary Medicine, University of Saskatchewan, 52 Campus Drive, Saskatoon, SK S7N 5B4, CanadaBeaverlodge Research Farm, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, 1 Research Road, Beaverlodge, AB T0H 0C0, CanadaNational Bee Diagnostic Centre, Grand Prairie Regional College, 1 Research Road, Beaverlodge, AB T0H 0C0, CanadaDepartment of Large Animal Clinical Sciences, Western College of Veterinary Medicine, University of Saskatchewan, 52 Campus Drive, Saskatoon, SK S7N 5B4, CanadaDepartment of Veterinary Pathology, Western College of Veterinary Medicine, University of Saskatchewan, 52 Campus Drive, Saskatoon, SK S7N 5B4, CanadaNeonicotinoid and fungicide exposure has been linked to immunosuppression and increased susceptibility to disease in honeybees (<i>Apis mellifera</i>). European foulbrood, caused by the bacterium <i>Melissococcus plutonius</i>, is a disease of honeybee larvae which causes economic hardship for commercial beekeepers, in particular those whose colonies pollinate blueberries. We report for the first time in Canada, an atypical variant of <i>M. plutonius</i> isolated from a blueberry-pollinating colony. With this isolate, we used an <i>in vitro</i> larval infection system to study the effects of pesticide exposure on the development of European foulbrood disease. Pesticide doses tested were excessive (thiamethoxam and pyrimethanil) or maximal field-relevant (propiconazole and boscalid). We found that chronic exposure to the combination of thiamethoxam and propiconazole significantly decreased the survival of larvae infected with <i>M. plutonius</i>, while larvae chronically exposed to thiamethoxam and/or boscalid or pyrimethanil did not experience significant increases in mortality from <i>M. plutonius</i> infection <i>in vitro</i>. Based on these results, individual, calculated field-realistic residues of thiamethoxam and/or boscalid or pyrimethanil are unlikely to increase mortality from European foulbrood disease in honeybee worker brood, while the effects of field-relevant exposure to thiamethoxam and propiconazole on larval mortality from European foulbrood warrant further study.https://www.mdpi.com/2075-4450/11/4/252European foulbrood<i>Melissococcus plutonius</i>atypicalhoneybeeneonicotinoidfungicide |
| spellingShingle | Sarah C. Wood Jocelyne C. Chalifour Ivanna V. Kozii Igor Medici de Mattos Colby D. Klein Michael W. Zabrodski Igor Moshynskyy M. Marta Guarna Patricia Wolf Veiga Tasha Epp Elemir Simko <i>In Vitro</i> Effects of Pesticides on European Foulbrood in Honeybee Larvae Insects European foulbrood <i>Melissococcus plutonius</i> atypical honeybee neonicotinoid fungicide |
| title | <i>In Vitro</i> Effects of Pesticides on European Foulbrood in Honeybee Larvae |
| title_full | <i>In Vitro</i> Effects of Pesticides on European Foulbrood in Honeybee Larvae |
| title_fullStr | <i>In Vitro</i> Effects of Pesticides on European Foulbrood in Honeybee Larvae |
| title_full_unstemmed | <i>In Vitro</i> Effects of Pesticides on European Foulbrood in Honeybee Larvae |
| title_short | <i>In Vitro</i> Effects of Pesticides on European Foulbrood in Honeybee Larvae |
| title_sort | i in vitro i effects of pesticides on european foulbrood in honeybee larvae |
| topic | European foulbrood <i>Melissococcus plutonius</i> atypical honeybee neonicotinoid fungicide |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2075-4450/11/4/252 |
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