Wu Meihua, Sugimura Yuya, Iwata Kyoko, Takaya Noriko, Takamatsu Daisuke, Kobayashi Masaru, Taylor DeMar, Kimura Kiyoshi, Yoshiyama Mikio
Honey Bee Research Unit, Animal Breeding and Reproduction Research Division, National Institute of Livestock and Grassland Science, NARO, 2 Ikenodai, Tsukuba, Ibaraki 305-0901, Japan Graduate School of Life and Environmental Sciences, University of Tsukuba, 1-1-1 Tennodai, Tsukuba, Ibaraki 305-8572, Japan
Honey Bee Research Unit, Animal Breeding and Reproduction Research Division, National Institute of Livestock and Grassland Science, NARO, 2 Ikenodai, Tsukuba, Ibaraki 305-0901, Japan.
J Insect Sci. 2014;14:129. doi: 10.1093/jis/14.1.129.
European foulbrood is a contagious bacterial disease of honey bee larvae. Studies have shown that the intestinal bacteria of insects, including honey bees, act as probiotic organisms. Microbial flora from the gut of the Japanese honey bee, Apis cerana japonica F. (Hymenoptera: Apidae), were characterized and evaluated for their potential to inhibit the growth of Melissococcus plutonius corrig. (ex White) Bailey and Collins (Lactobacillales: Enterococcaceae), the causative agent of European foulbrood. Analysis of 16S rRNA gene sequences from 17 bacterial strains isolated by using a culture-dependent method revealed that most isolates belonged to Bacillus, Staphylococcus, and Pantoea. The isolates were screened against the pathogenic bacterium M. plutonius by using an in vitro growth inhibition assay, and one isolate (Acja3) belonging to the genus Bacillus exhibited inhibitory activity against M. plutonius. In addition, in vivo feeding assays revealed that isolate Acja3 decreased the mortality of honey bee larvae infected with M plutonius, suggesting that this bacterial strain could potentially be used as a probiotic agent against European foulbrood.
欧洲幼虫腐臭病是蜜蜂幼虫的一种传染性细菌性疾病。研究表明，包括蜜蜂在内的昆虫肠道细菌可作为益生菌发挥作用。对日本蜜蜂（Apis cerana japonica F.，膜翅目：蜜蜂科）肠道中的微生物菌群进行了表征，并评估了它们抑制欧洲幼虫腐臭病病原体——蜂房蜜蜂球菌（Melissococcus plutonius corrig.，原为White命名，后由Bailey和Collins重新分类，属于乳杆菌目肠球菌科）生长的潜力。通过依赖培养的方法分离出17株细菌菌株，并对其16S rRNA基因序列进行分析，结果显示大多数分离株属于芽孢杆菌属、葡萄球菌属和泛菌属。通过体外生长抑制试验，针对病原菌蜂房蜜蜂球菌对这些分离株进行筛选，其中一株属于芽孢杆菌属的分离株（Acja3）对蜂房蜜蜂球菌表现出抑制活性。此外，体内饲喂试验表明，分离株Acja3降低了感染蜂房蜜蜂球菌的蜜蜂幼虫的死亡率，这表明该菌株有可能用作防治欧洲幼虫腐臭病的益生菌剂。
