title: Are commercial probiotics and prebiotics effective in the treatment and prevention of honeybee nosemosis C?
abstract: 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.
authors.affiliation: Department of Botany and Mycology, Institute of Biology and Biochemistry, Faculty of Biology and Biotechnology, Maria Curie-Skłodowska University, 19 Akademicka st., 20-033, Lublin, Poland. aneta.ptaszynska@poczta.umcs.lublin.pl.
authors.forename: Aneta A
authors.identifier: http://orcid.org/0000-0001-6413-6028
authors.initials: AA
authors.lastname: Ptaszyńska
authors.affiliation: Department of Biological Basis of Animal Production, Faculty of Biology and Animal Breeding, University of Life Sciences, 13 Akademicka st., 20-950, Lublin, Poland.
authors.forename: Grzegorz
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Borsuk
authors.affiliation: Department of Immunobiology, Institute of Biology, Maria Curie-Skłodowska University, 19 Akademicka st., 20-033, Lublin, Poland.
authors.forename: Agnieszka
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Zdybicka-Barabas
authors.affiliation: Department of Immunobiology, Institute of Biology, Maria Curie-Skłodowska University, 19 Akademicka st., 20-033, Lublin, Poland.
authors.forename: Małgorzata
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Cytryńska
authors.affiliation: Department of Genetics and Microbiology, Maria Curie-Skłodowska University, 19 Akademicka st., 20-033, Lublin, Poland.
authors.forename: Wanda
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Małek
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D056630:Beekeeping / Q000379:methods; D001516:Bees / Q000187:drug effects / Q000276:immunology / Q000382:microbiology*; D004271:DNA, Fungal / Q000302:isolation & purification; D006458:Hemolymph / Q000201:enzymology; D007444:Inulin / Q000009:adverse effects; D052201:Lacticaseibacillus rhamnosus / Q000502:physiology*; D014442:Monophenol Monooxygenase / Q000378:metabolism; D060885:Multiplex Polymerase Chain Reaction; D016818:Nosema / Q000187:drug effects / Q000235:genetics / Q000302:isolation & purification / Q000472:pathogenicity*; D056692:Prebiotics / Q000009:adverse effects*; D019936:Probiotics / Q000009:adverse effects*; D011897:Random Allocation
chemical_list: D004271:DNA, Fungal; D056692:Prebiotics; D007444:Inulin; D014442:Monophenol Monooxygenase
keywords: Apis mellifera survival; Lactobacillus rhamnosus, inulin; Nosema ceranae; Phenoloxidase activity; Prebiotic; Probiotic