Division of Neuroscience, Medical Research Institute, Ninewells Medical School, University of Dundee, DD1 9SY Dundee, UK.
Parasitol Res. 2013 Feb;112(2):751-9. doi: 10.1007/s00436-012-3195-0. Epub 2012 Nov 21.
Nosema ceranae is spreading into areas where Nosema apis already exists. N. ceranae has been reported to cause an asymptomatic infection that may lead, ultimately, to colony collapse. It is thought that there may be a temperature barrier to its infiltration into countries in colder climates. In this study, 71 colonies from Scottish Beekeeper's Association members have been screened for the presence of N. apis and N. ceranae across Scotland. We find that only 11 of the 71 colonies tested positive for spores by microscopy. However, 70.4 % of colonies screened by PCR revealed the presence of both N. ceranae and N. apis, with only 4.2 or 7 % having either strain alone and 18.3 % being Nosema free. A range of geographically separated colonies testing positive for N. ceranae were sequenced to confirm their identity. All nine sequences confirmed the presence of N. ceranae and indicated the presence of a single new variant. Furthermore, two of the spore-containing colonies had only N. ceranae present, and these exhibited the presence of smaller spores that could be distinguished from N. apis by the analysis of average spore size. Differential quantification of the PCR product revealed N. ceranae to be the dominant species in all seven samples tested. In conclusion, N. ceranae is widespread in Scotland where it exists in combination with the endemic N. apis. A single variant, identical to that found in France (DQ374655) except for the addition of a single nucleotide polymorphism, is present in Scotland.
微孢子虫（Nosema ceranae）正在传播到已存在意大利蜜蜂微孢子虫（Nosema apis）的地区。据报道，N. ceranae 会引起无症状感染，最终可能导致蜂群衰竭。人们认为，其可能存在一个渗透到气候较冷国家的温度障碍。在这项研究中，对苏格兰养蜂人协会成员的 71 个蜂群进行了筛查，以检测苏格兰各地 N. apis 和 N. ceranae 的存在情况。我们发现，只有 71 个经显微镜检测的蜂群中有 11 个孢子呈阳性。然而，通过 PCR 筛查的 70.4%的蜂群显示同时存在 N. ceranae 和 N. apis，只有 4.2%或 7%的蜂群单独存在这两种菌株，18.3%的蜂群没有微孢子虫。对一系列经 PCR 检测呈阳性的地理上分离的蜂群进行测序以确认其身份。所有 9 个序列均证实存在 N. ceranae，并表明存在一种新的单一变体。此外，两种含孢子的蜂群中仅存在 N. ceranae，这些蜂群的孢子较小，通过分析平均孢子大小可以与 N. apis 区分开来。PCR 产物的差异定量显示，在所有测试的 7 个样本中，N. ceranae 都是优势物种。总之，N. ceranae 在苏格兰广泛存在，它与地方性的 N. apis 同时存在。在苏格兰存在一种单一变体，与在法国（DQ374655）发现的变体相同，除了添加一个单核苷酸多态性外。
