Instituto de Ciencias, Facultad de Medicina Clínica Alemana Universidad del Desarrollo, Santiago, Chile.
Parasitol Res. 2012 Aug;111(2):601-7. doi: 10.1007/s00436-012-2875-0. Epub 2012 Mar 28.
The microsporidian Nosema apis and Nosema ceranae have been associated with colony disorders of Apis mellifera and Apis cerana, respectively. N. apis is endemic in South America. Recently, N. ceranae has been detected in Brazil, Uruguay and Argentina. No report of its presence, distribution and prevalence in Chile is available. Here, we present a real-time PCR-based method that was able to discriminate between N. apis and N. ceranae. The dynamic range of this assay was 100 to 100,000 spores per honeybee. False-negative results were avoided due to the use of ACTIN gene as internal standard. False-positive results were obtained neither in experimentally nor in naturally contaminated samples. Using this method, we screened 240 beehives from the Chilean region where 42% of the total country honey production take places (Región del Biobío). Nosema spp. were detected in the four provinces and in 20 of the 26 communes of the region. Among the samples analysed, 49% were positive for N. ceranae. Their infection level ranged from 200 to more than 100,000 spores per honeybee. N. apis was not detected in this region. Hence, our data show that in Chile N. ceranae is an emergent pathogen that is been replacing N. apis. Also, they support that N. ceranae maybe the actual responsible for nosemosis in A. mellifera in South America.
微孢子虫 Nosema apis 和 Nosema ceranae 分别与西方蜜蜂（Apis mellifera）和中华蜜蜂（Apis cerana）的蜂群疾病有关。N.apis 是南美洲的地方病。最近，在巴西、乌拉圭和阿根廷检测到了 N. ceranae。然而，目前智利还没有关于其存在、分布和流行情况的报告。在这里，我们提出了一种基于实时 PCR 的方法，该方法能够区分 N.apis 和 N. ceranae。该测定的动态范围为每只蜜蜂 100 至 100,000 个孢子。由于使用了 ACTIN 基因作为内参，避免了假阴性结果。在实验和自然污染样本中均未获得假阳性结果。使用该方法，我们对智利地区的 240 个蜂箱进行了筛查，该地区占智利全国蜂蜜产量的 42%（比奥比奥地区）。在该地区的四个省和 26 个市镇中的 20 个市镇中均检测到了 Nosema spp。在所分析的样本中，49%的样本对 N. ceranae 呈阳性。它们的感染水平范围从每只蜜蜂 200 到 100,000 多个孢子不等。在该地区未检测到 N.apis。因此，我们的数据表明，在智利，N. ceranae 是一种新兴的病原体，正在取代 N.apis。此外，它们支持 N. ceranae 可能是南美洲西方蜜蜂中 Nosemosis 的实际病原体。
