The first report of the prevalence of Nosema ceranae in Bulgaria
Rositsa Shumkova,
Ani Georgieva,
Georgi Radoslavov,
Daniela Sirakova,
Gyulnas Dzhebir,
Boyko Neov,
Maria Bouga,
Peter Hristov
Affiliations
Rositsa Shumkova
Agricultural and Stockbreeding Experimental Station, Agricultural Academy, Smolyan, Bulgaria
Ani Georgieva
Department of Pathology, Institute of Experimental Morphology, Pathology and Morphology and Anthropology with Museum, Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, Sofia, Bulgaria
Georgi Radoslavov
Department of Animal Diversity and Resources, Institute of Biodiversity and Ecosystem Research, Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, Sofia, Bulgaria
Daniela Sirakova
Department of Animal Diversity and Resources, Institute of Biodiversity and Ecosystem Research, Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, Sofia, Bulgaria
Gyulnas Dzhebir
Department of Structure and Function of Chromatin, Institute of Molecular Biology, Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, Sofia, Bulgaria
Boyko Neov
Department of Animal Diversity and Resources, Institute of Biodiversity and Ecosystem Research, Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, Sofia, Bulgaria
Maria Bouga
Laboratory of Agricultural Zoology and Entomology, Agricultural University of Athens, Athens, Greece
Peter Hristov
Department of Animal Diversity and Resources, Institute of Biodiversity and Ecosystem Research, Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, Sofia, Bulgaria
Nosema apis and Nosema ceranae are the two main microsporidian parasites causing nosematosis in the honey bee Apis mellifera. The aim of the present study is to investigate the presence of Nosema apis and Nosema ceranae in the area of Bulgaria. The 16S (SSU) rDNA gene region was chosen for analysis. A duplex PCR assay was performed on 108 honey bee samples from three different parts of the country (South, North and West Bulgaria). The results showed that the samples from the northern part of the country were with the highest prevalence (77.2%) for Nosema ceranae while those from the mountainous parts (the Rodopa Mountains, South Bulgaria) were with the lowest rate (13.9%). Infection with Nosema apis alone and co-infection N. apis/N. ceranae were not detected in any samples. These findings suggest that Nosema ceranae is the dominant species in the Bulgarian honey bee. It is not known when the introduction of Nosema ceranae in Bulgaria has occurred, but as in the rest of the world, this species has become the dominant one in Bulgarian Apis mellifera. In conclusion, this is the first report for molecular detection of Nosema infection of honey bee in Bulgaria. The results showed that N. ceranae is the main Nosema species in Bulgaria.
