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Nutritional limitation and resistance to opportunistic Aspergillus parasites in honey bee larvae

journal contribution
posted on 2023-06-08, 15:43 authored by Kirsten Foley, Géraldine Fazio, Annette B Jensen, William HughesWilliam Hughes
Honey bees are threatened by land use changes which reduce the availability and diversity of pollen and nectar resources. There is concern that poor nutrition may be involved in recent population declines, either directly or due to indirect effects on immunocompetence. The larval stage is likely to be the most vulnerable to a poor diet, but the effects of larval nutrition on the disease susceptibility of bees are not well known. In this study we used laboratory-reared honey bee larvae to investigate the effects of diet quality on disease susceptibility to the opportunistic fungal parasites Aspergillus flavus, Aspergillus phoenicis and A. fumigatus. Larvae fed on a nutritionally poor diet were found to be significantly more susceptible to A. fumigatus. Larval resistance to A. fumigatus was enhanced by feeding with a diet supplemented with either dandelion or polyfloral pollens. This indicates that dandelion and polyfloral pollens contain elements that enhance resistance to this fungal disease, illustrating an interaction between nutrition and parasitism and emphasising the benefit of diverse floral resources in the environment to maintain honey bee health

Funding

Host parasite genetic diversity; G1019; NERC-NATURAL ENVIRONMENT RESEARCH COUNCIL; RG.IICB.475604 - NE/G006849/2

History

Publication status

  • Published

Journal

Journal of Invertebrate Pathology

ISSN

0022-2011

Publisher

Elsevier

Issue

1

Volume

111

Page range

68-73

Department affiliated with

  • Evolution, Behaviour and Environment Publications

Full text available

  • No

Peer reviewed?

  • Yes

Legacy Posted Date

2015-11-09

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