title: Bacteria detected in the honeybee parasitic mite Varroa destructor collected from beehive winter debris.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  The winter beehive debris containing bodies of honeybee parasitic mite Varroa destructor is used for veterinary diagnostics. The Varroa sucking honeybee haemolymph serves as a reservoir of pathogens including bacteria. Worker bees can pick up pathogens from the debris during cleaning activities and spread the infection to healthy bees within the colony. The aim of this study was to detect entomopathogenic bacteria in the Varroa collected from the winter beehive debris.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Culture-independent approach was used to analyse the mite-associated bacterial community. Total DNA was extracted from the samples of 10 Varroa female individuals sampled from 27 different sites in Czechia. The 16S rRNA gene was amplified using universal bacterial primers, cloned and sequenced, resulting in a set of 596 sequences representing 29 operational taxonomic units (OTU97). To confirm the presence of bacteria in Varroa, histological sections of the mites were observed. Undetermined bacteria were observed in the mite gut and fat tissue.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Morganella sp. was the most frequently detected taxon, followed by Enterococcus sp., Pseudomonas sp., Rahnella sp., Erwinia sp., and Arsenophonus sp. The honeybee putative pathogen Spiroplasma sp. was detected at one site and Bartonella-like bacteria were found at four sites. PCR-based analysis using genus-specific primers enabled detection of the following taxa: Enterococcus, Bartonella-like bacteria, Arsenophonus and Spiroplasma.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  We found potentially pathogenic (Spiroplasma) and parasitic bacteria (Arsenophonus) in mites from winter beehive debris. The mites can be reservoirs of the pathogenic bacteria in the apicultures.
authors.affiliation: Crop Research Institute, Prague, Czechia.
authors.forename: J
authors.identifier: http://orcid.org/0000-0003-0740-166X
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Hubert
authors.affiliation: Crop Research Institute, Prague, Czechia.
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Erban
authors.affiliation: Bee Research Institute at Dol, Libcice nad Vltavou, Czechia.
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Kamler
authors.affiliation: Crop Research Institute, Prague, Czechia.
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Kopecky
authors.affiliation: Crop Research Institute, Prague, Czechia.
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Nesvorna
authors.affiliation: Crop Research Institute, Prague, Czechia.|Department of Ecology, Faculty of Science, Charles University in Prague, Prague, Czechia.
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Hejdankova
authors.affiliation: Bee Research Institute at Dol, Libcice nad Vltavou, Czechia.
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Titera
authors.affiliation: Bee Research Institute at Dol, Libcice nad Vltavou, Czechia.
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Tyl
authors.affiliation: Department of Diagnostic Medicine and Pathobiology, Kansas State University, Manhattan, KS, USA.
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Zurek
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001419:Bacteria / Q000145:classification / Q000235:genetics / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D001516:Bees / Q000254:growth & development / Q000469:parasitology*; D005260:Female; D008297:Male; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D010802:Phylogeny; D012336:RNA, Ribosomal, 16S / Q000235:genetics; D012621:Seasons; D057077:Varroidae / Q000382:microbiology* / Q000502:physiology
chemical_list: D012336:RNA, Ribosomal, 16S
keywords: Apis mellifera; Arsenophonus; Spiroplasma; Varroa destructor; bacteria feeding; diagnostics; pathogen; pathogen detection; winter wax debris