title: Comparison of the energetic stress associated with experimental Nosema ceranae and Nosema apis infection of honeybees (Apis mellifera).
abstract: Nosema ceranae is a relatively new and widespread parasite of the western honeybee Apis mellifera that provokes a new form of nosemosis. In comparison to Nosema apis, which has been infecting the honeybee for much longer, N. ceranae seems to have co-evolved less with this host, causing a more virulent disease. Given that N. apis and N. ceranae are obligate intracellular microsporidian parasites, needing host energy to reproduce, energetic stress may be an important factor contributing to the increased virulence observed. Through feeding experiments on caged bees, we show that both mortality and sugar syrup consumption were higher in N. ceranae-infected bees than in N. apis-infected and control bees. The mortality and sugar syrup consumption are also higher in N. apis-infected bees than in controls, but are less than in N. ceranae-infected bees. With both microsporidia, mortality and sugar syrup consumption increased in function of the increasing spore counts administered for infection. The differences in energetic requirements between both Nosema spp. confirm that their metabolic patterns are not the same, which may depend critically on host-parasite interactions and, ultimately, on host pathology. The repercussions of this increased energetic stress may even explain the changes in host behavior due to starvation, lack of thermoregulatory capacity, or higher rates of trophallaxis, which might enhance transmission and bee death.
authors.affiliation: Bee Pathology Laboratory, Centro Apícola Regional, JCCM, San Martín s/n, 19180 Marchamalo, Guadalajara, Spain.
authors.forename: Raquel
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Martín-Hernández
authors.forename: Cristina
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Botías
authors.forename: Laura
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Barrios
authors.forename: Amparo
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Martínez-Salvador
authors.forename: Aránzazu
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Meana
authors.forename: Christopher
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Mayack
authors.forename: Mariano
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Higes
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001516:Bees / Q000382:microbiology* / Q000502:physiology*; D004734:Energy Metabolism; D005247:Feeding Behavior; D016818:Nosema / Q000472:pathogenicity*; D016019:Survival Analysis