Facultad de Ciencias, Sección Etología, Montevideo, Uruguay.
Departamento de Microbiología, Instituto de Investigaciones Biológicas Clemente Estable (IIBCE), Montevideo, Uruguay.
PLoS One. 2021 Apr 26;16(4):e0249842. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0249842. eCollection 2021.
Bumble bees (Bombus spp.) are important pollinators insects involved in the maintenance of natural ecosystems and food production. Bombus pauloensis is a widely distributed species in South America, that recently began to be managed and commercialized in this region. The movement of colonies within or between countries may favor the dissemination of parasites and pathogens, putting into risk while populations of B. pauloensis and other native species. In this study, wild B. pauloensis queens and workers, and laboratory reared workers were screened for the presence of phoretic mites, internal parasites (microsporidia, protists, nematodes and parasitoids) and RNA viruses (Black queen cell virus (BQCV), Deformed wing virus (DWV), Acute paralysis virus (ABCV) and Sacbrood virus (SBV)). Bumble bee queens showed the highest number of mite species, and it was the only group where Conopidae and S. bombi were detected. In the case of microsporidia, a higher prevalence of N. ceranae was detected in field workers. Finally, the bumble bees presented the four RNA viruses studied for A. mellifera, in proportions similar to those previously reported in this species. Those results highlight the risks of spillover among the different species of pollinators.
熊蜂（Bombus spp.）是一种重要的传粉昆虫，参与维持自然生态系统和食物生产。Bombus pauloensis 是一种广泛分布于南美洲的物种，最近在该地区开始被管理和商业化。殖民地在国家内部或国家之间的迁移可能有利于寄生虫和病原体的传播，从而危及 B. pauloensis 和其他本地物种的种群。在这项研究中，野生 B. pauloensis 蜂王和工蜂以及实验室饲养的工蜂被筛选是否存在寄生螨、内部寄生虫（微孢子虫、原生动物、线虫和寄生蜂）和 RNA 病毒（黑蜂王细胞病毒（BQCV）、变形翅膀病毒（DWV）、急性麻痹病毒（ABCV）和 Sacbrood 病毒（SBV））。熊蜂蜂王身上携带的螨种最多，而且是唯一检测到 Conopidae 和 S. bombi 的群体。就微孢子虫而言，在野外工作的工蜂中检测到 N. ceranae 的发病率更高。最后，研究发现熊蜂携带了与之前在该物种中报道的比例相似的四种 RNA 病毒。这些结果突出了不同传粉媒介物种之间溢出的风险。
