title: Nosema ceranae (Microsporidia), a controversial 21st century honey bee pathogen.
abstract: The worldwide beekeeping sector has been facing a grave threat, with losses up to 100-1000 times greater than those previously reported. Despite the scale of this honey bee mortality, the causes underlying this phenomenon remain unclear, yet they are thought to be multifactorial processes. Nosema ceranae, a microsporidium recently detected in the European bee all over the world, has been implicated in the global phenomenon of colony loss, although its role remains controversial. A review of the current knowledge about this pathogen is presented focussing on discussion related with divergent results, trying to analyse the differences specially based on different methodologies applied and divisive aspects on pathology while considering a biological or veterinarian point of view. For authors, the disease produced by N. ceranae infection cannot be considered a regional problem but rather a global one, as indicated by the wide prevalence of this parasite in multiple hosts. Not only does this type of nosemosis causes a clear pathology on honeybees at both the individual and colony levels, but it also has significant effects on the production of honeybee products.
authors.affiliation: Centro Apícola Regional CAR, Dirección General de la Producción Agropecuaria, Consejería de Agricultura, Junta de Castilla-La Mancha, Spain. mhiges@jccm.es
authors.forename: Mariano
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Higes
authors.forename: Aránzazu
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Meana
authors.forename: Carolina
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Bartolomé
authors.forename: Cristina
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Botías
authors.forename: Raquel
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Martín-Hernández
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D056630:Beekeeping; D001516:Bees / Q000382:microbiology*; D004271:DNA, Fungal / Q000235:genetics; D014644:Genetic Variation; D016881:Microsporidiosis / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000662:veterinary; D016818:Nosema / Q000145:classification / Q000235:genetics / Q000472:pathogenicity*; D015995:Prevalence; D014774:Virulence
chemical_list: D004271:DNA, Fungal