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Domesticated Honeybees Are a Source of Pathogens for Wild

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Domesticated Honeybees Are a Source of Pathogens for Wild Anamın əziz xatirəsinə. Dedicated to the loving memory of my beloved mother Agida Mammadova (1951-2011). Promoters: Prof. dr. ir. Guy Smagghe Department of Crop Protection, Faculty of Bioscience Bngineering Ghent University, Belgium Dr. Ivan Meeus Department of Crop Protection, Faculty of Bioscience Engineering, Ghent University, Belgium Prof. Dr. Dirk de Graaf Department of Physiology Faculty of Sciences, Ghent University, Belgium The examination committee: Chairman: Prof. dr. ir. Peter Bossier Faculty of Bioscience Engineering, Ghent University, Belgium Secretary Prof. dr. Daisy Vanrompay Faculty of Bioscience Engineering, Ghent University, Belgium Prof. dr. Denis Michez Université de Mons, Belgium Prof. dr. Felix Wäckers R&D director Biobest, Belgium Dean: Prof. dr. ir. Guido Van Huylenbroeck Rector: Prof. dr. Anne De Paepe Potential for spillover of protozoan parasites from domesticated honeybees and reared bumblebees towards wild bumblebees Ir. Jafar Maharramov Thesis submitted in fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor (PhD) in Applied Biological Sciences Dutch translation of the title: Potentieel voor overdracht van protozoaire ziektes van gedomesticeerde honingbijen en gekweekte hommels naar wilde hommels. Please refer to this thesis as: Maharramov J.H., 2015. Potential for spillover of protozoan parasites from domesticated honeybees and reared bumblebees towards wild bumblebees. PhD thesis. Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium. ISBN-number: 978-90-5989-767-0 Cover photo: On top: Bombus terrestris and Apis mellifera on Hylotelephium spectabile. On the next raws from left to right: Bombus dahlbomii, Bombus terrestris, Bombus pascuorum and Apis mellifera on Cirsium vulgare. The author and promoters give the authorization to consult and to copy parts of this work for personal use only. Every other use is subject to the copyright laws. Permission to reproduce any material contained in this work should be obtained from the author. iv Contents Contents ............................................................................................................................... v Scope and objectives of the study.............................................................................................. ix Chapter I: Introduction ..................................................................................................................1 1. Wild bees and their role in preserving biodiversity of nature .............................................2 2. Bumblebees and their pollination service ..............................................................................2 2.1. Bumblebee biology ...................................................................................................... 5 2.2. Bombus terrestris ......................................................................................................... 8 2.3. Bombus pascuorum ...................................................................................................... 9 2.4. Bombus dahlbomii ...................................................................................................... 10 3. Plight of bumblebee populations. ..........................................................................................11 3.1. Current status of pollinator declines........................................................................... 11 3.2. Causes of pollinator declines...................................................................................... 12 3.3. Spillover from managed bees to wild life. ................................................................. 13 3.4. Threat of spillover ...................................................................................................... 15 4. Overview of bee parasites ......................................................................................................16 4.1. Protozoa ...................................................................................................................... 16 4.2. Microsporidia ............................................................................................................. 17 4.3. Spiroplasmas .............................................................................................................. 18 5. Apicystis bombi ........................................................................................................................19 5.1. Introduction ................................................................................................................ 19 5.2. Life cycle .................................................................................................................... 19 5.3. Pathology .................................................................................................................... 20 6. Dynamics of multihost parasites ...........................................................................................21 6.1. Host-parasite interaction ............................................................................................ 21 Contents 6.2. One host and one parasite .......................................................................................... 22 6.3. Multihost parasites ..................................................................................................... 23 6.3.1. Virulence of multihost parasites .............................................................................. 24 7. Emerging infectious diseases and the implication for wild bumblebee populations ......25 Chapter II: Risk assessment of spillover: prevalence and transmission ...............................27 Part 1. Monitoring managed bees ..............................................................................................28 1. Introduction ..............................................................................................................................28 2. Material and methods ..............................................................................................................30 2.1 Monitoring of honeybee hives..................................................................................... 30 2.2. Monitoring of reared bumblebee colonies ................................................................. 30 3. Results .......................................................................................................................................33 3.1. Parasite prevalence in honeybee hives ....................................................................... 33 3.2. Screening of reared bumblebee colonies .................................................................... 34 4. Discussion ................................................................................................................................34 Part 2. Protozoan and microsporidian parasites of bumblebees have the ability to perform horizontal transmission ...............................................................................................................37 5. Introduction ..............................................................................................................................37 6. Material methods .....................................................................................................................37 6.1. Experimental setup ..................................................................................................... 37 6.2. Parasite free bumblebee colonies ............................................................................... 38 7. Results .......................................................................................................................................39 8. Discussion ................................................................................................................................40 Chapter III: Molecular haplotyping to identify intra-specific variations of Apicystis bombi and to study parasite spillover ....................................................................................................43 Part 1. Development of molecular tools for the screening of protozoan parasites in bees 44 1. Introduction ..............................................................................................................................44 vi Contents 2. Material and methods ..............................................................................................................47 3. Results .......................................................................................................................................49 Part 2. Genetic variability of the neogregarine Apicystis bombi, an etiological agent of an emergent bumblebee disease. .....................................................................................................53 1. Introduction ..............................................................................................................................53 2. Materials and Methods ...........................................................................................................55 2.1. Origin of Infected Apicystis bombi species ................................................................ 55 2.2. Ethics statement.......................................................................................................... 57 2.3. Haplotyping of Apicystis bombi ................................................................................. 57 2.4. Genetic variation and structuring of Apicystis
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