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. 2019 Mar 7;14(3):e0213171.
doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0213171. eCollection 2019.

Prevalence of infection by the microsporidian Nosema spp. in native bumblebees (Bombus spp.) in northern Thailand

Chainarong Sinpoo  1   2 , Terd Disayathanoowat  1 , Paul H Williams  3 , Panuwan Chantawannakul  1   4
Affiliations

Prevalence of infection by the microsporidian Nosema spp. in native bumblebees (Bombus spp.) in northern Thailand

Chainarong Sinpoo et al. PLoS One. .

Abstract

Bumblebees (tribe Bombini, genus Bombus Latreille) play a pivotal role as pollinators in mountain regions for both native plants and for agricultural systems. In our survey of northern Thailand, four species of bumblebees (Bombus (Megabombus) montivagus Smith, B. (Alpigenobombus) breviceps Smith, B. (Orientalibombus) haemorrhoidalis Smith and B. (Melanobombus) eximius Smith), were present in 11 localities in 4 provinces (Chiang Mai, Mae Hong Son, Chiang Rai and Nan). We collected and screened 280 foraging worker bumblebees for microsporidia (Nosema spp.) and trypanosomes (Crithidia spp.). Our study is the first to demonstrate the parasite infection in bumblebees in northern Thailand. We found N. ceranae in B. montivagus (5.35%), B. haemorrhoidalis (4.76%), and B. breviceps (14.28%) and N. bombi in B. montivagus (14.28%), B. haemorrhoidalis (11.64%), and B. breviceps (28.257%).

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.

Figures

Fig 1
Fig 1. Map of the collection sites (grey dots) of native bumblebees in northern Thailand.
Code name are abbreviated as following: DS = Doi Suthep, DI = Doi Inthanon, DMTM = Doi Mae Thaman, DAK = Doi Ang Khang, DMNg = Doi Mon Ngao, DUK = Doi Mae U Kho, DT = Doi Thong, DPK = Doi Phu Kha.
Fig 2
Fig 2. Species identification guide with simplified colour patterns of female workers.
The dorsum of the body is artificially divided into an arbitrary set of regions.
Fig 3
Fig 3. Estimate of phylogenetic relationship of cytochrome oxidase subunit I (COI) from bumblebees (Bombus sp.) collected in northern Thailand using maximum likelihood.
The sequences of B. terrestris–JQ843621 was used as an out group. Numbers at each node represent bootstrap values as percentages and only bootstrap values greater than 70% are shown.
Fig 4
Fig 4. The phylogenetic tree showing the relationship of Nosema.
Unrooted consensus of phylogenetic tree showing the relationship of Nosema isolate the partial sequences of 16S ribosomal RNA of Nosema (4-A; N bombi, 4-B; N. ceranae) from Bombus spp. collected in northern Thailand. The tree was estimated using Maximum Likelihood. Numbers at each node represent bootstrap values as percentages and only bootstrap values greater than 70% are shown.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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