Nosema Ceranae

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Nosema Ceranae

Classification

Nosema Microsporidia can be divided into further, more distinct classifications: Nosema ceranae and Nosema apis. Nosema ceranae is currently the largest threat to bees worldwide.

Domain: Eukaryote; Phylum: Microsporidia; Class: Dihaplophasea; Order: Dissociodihaplophasida; Family: Nosematidae, Species: N. Ceranae [Others may be used. Use NCBI link to find]

Domain

Eukarya

Phylum

Microsporidia

Class

Dihpalophasea

Order

Dissociodihaplophasida

Suborder

Apansporoblastina

Family

Nosematidae

Genus Species

Nosema Ceranae

NCBI: Taxonomy

Description and Significance

This microbe exists within honey bees. This microbe is parasitic and its existence in and among honey bees is resulting in the decline of bee populations. The beekeeping industry has also been severely impacted because this microbe has caused the decline of the bee population and is one of the top threats against bees. Many of these losses are attributed to Colony Collapse Disorder (CCD), characterized by high levels of mortality in bee colonies, and one of the major causes of CCD can be linked to pathogens and diseases, specifically N. ceranae. Currently, N. ceranae is the leading microsporidian parasite among North American and European bees, and it can be detected from bee samples and from bee fecal samples under a microscope. [3]


Genome

This microsporidian is an obligate intracellular parasite of adult honey bees. A substantial fraction of the "diminutive N. ceranae proteome consists of novel and transposable-element proteins." The proteins that are in N. ceranae include the following: NcORF-00033, NcORF-00145, NcORF-00146, NcORF-00663, NcORF-00705, NcORF-00710, NcORF-00711, NcORF-00832, NcORF-01760, NcORF-00417, NcORF-00673, NcORF-01632, NcORF-01880, and more, all of which explain the behavior of the parasite itself and explain what causes this behavior. For example, some of the proteins descriptions are as follows: heat shock protein that plays a role in protein translocation, putative transporter of the ATP-binding cassette (ABC) family, implicated in pleiotropic drug resistance, mitochondrial superoxide dismutase and protects cells against oxygen toxicity, and a protein of the mitochondrial outer surface that binds to and promotes degradation of mRNAs for select nuclear-encoded mitochondrial proteins. Some proteins listed above interact with host proteins and host tissue. Researchers identified 2.624 putative protein-coding genes, and their predicted number of protein-coding genes is between 1,996 and 3,804. The recorded average density of genes on the 100 largest N. ceranae contigs was 0.60 genes/kb, which is lower than what was found in E. cuniculi, which is microsporidian parasite that affects rabbits, (0.94 genes/kb) and Antonospora locustae, which is another closely related microsporidian parasite, (0.97 genes/kb). In regards to gene sequence, N. ceranae is AT and relatively CCC rich and low in GC, which seems to be a common feature among microsporidians. N. ceranae also appears to be very low in G and C, individually (around 26%) and high in A and T, individually (74%). [3]

Cell Structure, Metabolism and Life Cycle

Spores are ingested and invade the gut epithelium instantly following germination. "Intracellular meronts" thus lead to mesospores that invade nearby cells following host-cell lysis. After passing through the gut, these exospores are excreted and easily infect other hosts. Compared to N. apis, another type of nosema that affects bees and the lifespan, N. ceranae lives after it proceeds through the gut while N. apis lives in the gut, is not excreted, and moves on to infect other tissues in the bee host. [3]


Ecology and Known Roles in Symbiosis

In regards to how these parasites affect the health of honey bees, N. ceranae decreases the infected bee's ability to acquire nutrients from its environment and thus shortens the bee's lifespan by causing starvation. This parasite also affects the bee's colony in that the colony will struggle with growth since the parasite will spread among the bees and in that the colony will struggle with surviving the winter season. Since infected bees struggle with finding nutrients and winter is characterized by less growth and abundance of nutrients, infected bees and colonies have poor winter survivorship. However, despite the abundance of N. ceranae, this parasite can be found not only in declining bee colonies but in healthy be colonies as well. [3] N. ceranae has grown to become a worldwide pathogen rather than a parasite restricted to one region and has branched out from the western hemisphere to eastern hemisphere colonies and bees populations in Asia. [3]


Fun Facts

List interesting facts about this microbe that would appeal to a general audience. Does the microbe play an important role in a process relevant to society?


References

[1] Huang, Wei-Fone & Leellen F. Solter. (2013). Nosema apis and Nosema ceranae: A comparitive study in the honey bee host. Bee Culture and American Bee Journal, (https://bee-health.extension.org/managed-pollinator-cap-update-nosema-apis-and-nosema-ceranae-a-comparative-study-in-the-honey-bee-host/).

[2] Chen,Y., Evans,J., Murphy,C., Gutell,R., Zuker,M., Gundensen-Rindal,D and Pettis,J. (2009). Morphological, molecular, and phylogenetic characterization of Nosema ceranae, a microsporidian parasite isolated from the European honey bee, Apis mellifera. Journal of Eukaryotic Microbiology 56: 142-147. (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19457054)

[3] Cornman, R. S., Chen, Y. P., Schatz, M. C., Street, C., Zhao, Y., Desany, B., … Evans, J. D. (2009). Genomic Analyses of the Microsporidian Nosema ceranae, an Emergent Pathogen of Honey Bees. PLoS Pathogens, 5(6). (https://journals.plos.org/plospathogens/article?id=10.1371/journal.ppat.100046)

[4] Higes,M., Salvador, A., Garrido-Bailón, E., Martín-Hernández,R., Meana, A. and Prieto, L. 2007. Outcome of Colonization of Nosema ceranae by Apis mellifera. Applied and Environmental Microbiology 73(20):6331. (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17675417)

[5] Smith, M. L. (2012). The Honey Bee Parasite Nosema ceranae: Transmissible via Food Exchange? PLoS One, 7(8).

[6] Jack, C. J., Lucas, H. M., Webster, T. C., & Sagili, R. R. (2016). Colony Level Prevalence and Intensity of Nosema ceranae in Honey Bees (Apis mellifera L.). PLoS One, 11(9).

[7] Goblirsch, M., Huang, Z. Y., & Spivak, M. (2013). Physiological and Behavioral Changes in Honey Bees (Apis mellifera) Induced by Nosema ceranae Infection. PLoS One, 8(3).

Author

This page was authored by Kristin Barnett as part of the 2020 UM Study USA led by Dr. Erik Hom at the University of Mississippi.