Are commercial probiotics and prebiotics effective in the treatment and prevention of honeybee nosemosis C?

The study was conducted to investigate the effect of Lactobacillus rhamnosus (a commercial probiotic) and inulin (a prebiotic) on the survival rates of honeybees infected and uninfected with Nosema ceranae, the level of phenoloxidase (PO) activity, the course of nosemosis, and the effect on the prev...

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Published in:Parasitology research (1987) 2016-01, Vol.115 (1), p.397-406
Main Authors: Ptaszyńska, Aneta A., Borsuk, Grzegorz, Zdybicka-Barabas, Agnieszka, Cytryńska, Małgorzata, Małek, Wanda
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Animals
Apis mellifera
Beekeeping - methods
Bees
Bees - drug effects
Bees - immunology
Bees - microbiology
Biomedical and Life Sciences
Biomedicine
DNA, Fungal - isolation & purification
Health aspects
Hemolymph - enzymology
Immunology
Inulin - adverse effects
Lactobacillus rhamnosus
Lactobacillus rhamnosus - physiology
Medical Microbiology
Methods
Microbiology
Monophenol Monooxygenase - metabolism
Multiplex Polymerase Chain Reaction
Nosema
Nosema - drug effects
Nosema - genetics
Nosema - isolation & purification
Nosema - pathogenicity
Original Paper
Prebiotics - adverse effects
Probiotics
Probiotics - adverse effects
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Summary:The study was conducted to investigate the effect of Lactobacillus rhamnosus (a commercial probiotic) and inulin (a prebiotic) on the survival rates of honeybees infected and uninfected with Nosema ceranae, the level of phenoloxidase (PO) activity, the course of nosemosis, and the effect on the prevention of nosemosis development in bees. The cells of L. rhamnosus exhibited a high rate of survival in 56.56 % sugar syrup, which was used to feed the honeybees. Surprisingly, honeybees fed with sugar syrup supplemented with a commercial probiotic and a probiotic + prebiotic were more susceptible to N. ceranae infection, and their lifespan was much shorter. The number of microsporidian spores in the honeybees fed for 9 days prior to N. ceranae infection with a sugar syrup supplemented with a commercial probiotic was 25 times higher (970 million spores per one honeybee) than in a control group fed with pure sucrose syrup (38 million spores per one honeybee). PO activity reached its highest level in the hemolymph of this honeybee control group uninfected with N. ceranae. The addition of probiotics or both probiotics and prebiotics to the food of uninfected bees led to the ~2-fold decrease in the PO activity. The infection of honeybees with N. ceranae accompanied an almost 20-fold decrease in the PO level. The inulin supplemented solely at a concentration of 2 μg/mL was the only administrated factor which did not significantly affect honeybees’ survival, the PO activity, or the nosemosis infection level. In conclusion, the supplementation of honeybees’ diet with improperly selected probiotics or both probiotics and prebiotics does not prevent nosemosis development, can de-regulate insect immune systems, and may significantly increase bee mortality.
ISSN:0932-0113
1432-1955
DOI:10.1007/s00436-015-4761-z