Evidence of the synergistic interaction of honey bee pathogens Nosema ceranae and Deformed wing virus

Abstract

Nosema ceranae and Deformed wing virus (DWV) are two of the most prevalent pathogens currently attacking Western honey bees, Apis mellifera, and often simultaneously infect the same hosts. Here we investigated the effect of N. ceranae and Deformed wing virus (DWV) interactions on infected honey bees under lab conditions and at different nutrition statuses. Our results showed that Nosema could accelerate DWV replication in infected bees in a dose-dependent manner at the early stages of DWV infection. When bees were restricted from pollen nutrition, inoculation with 1×10(4) and 1×10(5) spores/bee could cause a significant increase in DWV titer, while inoculation with 1×10(3) spores/bee did not show any significant effect on the DWV titer. When bees were provided with pollen, only inoculation with 1×10(5) spores/bee showed significant effect on DWV titer. However, our results also showed that the two pathogens did not act synergistically when the titer of DWV reached a plateau. This study suggests that the synergistic effect of N. ceranae and DWV is dosage- and nutrition-dependent and that the synergistic interactions between the two pathogens could have implications on honey bee colony losses.

Keywords: Apis mellifera; Deformed wing virus; Nosema ceranae; Pollen; Synergistic effect.