Effective gene silencing in a microsporidian parasite associated with honeybee (Apis mellifera) colony declines.
Honeybee colonies are vulnerable to parasites and pathogens ranging from viruses to vertebrates. An increasingly prevalent disease of managed honeybees is caused by the microsporidian Nosema ceranae. Microsporidia are basal fungi and obligate parasites with much-reduced genomic and cellular components. A recent genome-sequencing effort for N. ceranae indicated the presence of machinery for RNA silencing in this species, suggesting that RNA interference (RNAi) might be exploited to regulate Nosema gene expression within bee hosts. Here we used controlled laboratory experiments to show that double-stranded RNA homologous to specific N. ceranae ADP/ATP transporter genes can specifically and differentially silence transcripts encoding these proteins. This inhibition also affects Nosema levels and host physiology. Gene silencing could be mediated solely by Nosema or in concert with known systemic RNAi mechanisms in their bee hosts. These results are novel for the microsporidia and provide a possible avenue for controlling a disease agent implicated in severe honeybee colony losses. Moreover, since microsporidia are pathogenic in several known veterinary and human diseases, this advance may have broader applications in the future for disease control.
Paldi
Nitzan
N
Beeologics Inc., 11800 SW 77th Ave., Miami, Florida 33156, USA.
Glick
Eitan
E
Oliva
Maayan
M
Zilberberg
Yaron
Y
Aubin
Lucie
L
Pettis
Jeffery
J
Chen
Yanping
Y
Evans
Jay D
JD
D000818:Animals; D001516:Bees / Q000382:microbiology*; D020869:Gene Expression Profiling; D015966:Gene Expression Regulation, Fungal; D020868:Gene Silencing; D026901:Membrane Transport Proteins / Q000096:biosynthesis; D016818:Nosema / Q000201:enzymology* / Q000235:genetics; D012330:RNA, Double-Stranded / Q000032:analysis; D012331:RNA, Fungal / Q000032:analysis; D012333:RNA, Messenger / Q000032:analysis
D026901:Membrane Transport Proteins; D012330:RNA, Double-Stranded; D012331:RNA, Fungal; D012333:RNA, Messenger