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Advisor(s)
Abstract(s)
Trypanosomatids form a group of high prevalence protozoa that parasitise honey bees, with Lotmaria passim as the
predominant species worldwide. However, the knowledge about the ecology of trypanosomatids in isolated areas is
limited. The Portuguese archipelagos of Madeira and Azores provide an interesting setting to investigate these
parasites because of their geographic isolation, and because they harbour honey bee populations devoid of two major
enemies: Varroa destructor and Nosema ceranae. Hence, a total of 661 honey bee colonies from Madeira and the
Azores were analysed using different molecular techniques, through which we found a high prevalence of
trypanosomatids despite the isolation of these islands. L. passim was the predominant species and, in most colonies,
was the only one found, even on islands free of V. destructor and/or N. ceranae with severe restrictions on colony
movements to prevent the spread of them. However, islands with V. destructor had a significantly higher prevalence
of L. passim and, conversely, islands with N. ceranae had a significantly lower prevalence of the trypanosomatid.
Crithidia bombi was detected in Madeira and on three islands of the Azores, almost always coincident with L. passim.
By contrast, Crithidia mellificae was not detected in any sample. A High-Throughput Sequencing analysis distinguished
two main haplotypes of L. passim, which accounted for 98% of the total sequence reads. This work suggests that L.
passim and C. bombi are parasites that have been associated with honey bees predating the spread of V. destructor
and N. ceranae.
Description
Keywords
Trypanosomatids Apis mellifera
Pedagogical Context
Citation
Martin Hernández, Raquel; Aguado López, Daniel; Bartolomé, Carolina; Lopes, Ana Rita; Henriques, Dora; Maside, Xulio; Pinto, M. AliceHiges, Mariano (2023). Frequent parasitism of Apis mellifera by trypanosomatids in geographically isolated areas with restricted beekeeping movements. In Apimondia 48th International Apicultural Congress. Chile
Publisher
Apimondia