<abstract xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml"><p><italic>Apis mellifera</italic> colonies were sampled for over twelve months to study the <italic>Nosema</italic> infection in different apiaries of Himachal Pradesh, India. We found that the infection incidence was highest in the winter season (48.40 %) followed by autumn and rainy months. The infection was diagnosed conventionally through the microscopic analysis detection of <italic>Nosema</italic> species spores. However, with the recent findings that both <italic>N. ceranae</italic> and <italic>N. apis</italic> affect western honey bees, more sensitive and species specific molecular techniques are required that reliably differentiate between species of microsporidia. Therefore, molecular studies were conducted to precisely differentiate between <italic>Nosema</italic> species infecting honeybee colonies in India. Species specific multiplex PCR amplification using previously reported primers derived from 16S rRNA fragments were performed in a single reaction mixture. A single diagnostic band size of only 143 bp for <italic>N. ceranae</italic> was observed in the agarose gel. Furthermore, a diagnostic band size of 252 bp was observed with primer NoS, thus reconfirming the presence of <italic>N. ceranae</italic>. This study appears to be the first to report the detect of <italic>N. ceranae</italic> species from India in samples of <italic>A. mellifera</italic>.</p></abstract>

Apis mellifera colonies were sampled for over twelve months to study the Nosema infection in different apiaries of Himachal Pradesh, India. We found that the infection incidence was highest in the winter season (48.40 %) followed by autumn and rainy months. The infection was diagnosed conventionally through the microscopic analysis detection of Nosema species spores. However, with the recent findings that both N. ceranae and N. apis affect western honey bees, more sensitive and species specific molecular techniques are required that reliably differentiate between species of microsporidia. Therefore, molecular studies were conducted to precisely differentiate between Nosema species infecting honeybee colonies in India. Species specific multiplex PCR amplification using previously reported primers derived from 16S rRNA fragments were performed in a single reaction mixture. A single diagnostic band size of only 143 bp for N. ceranae was observed in the agarose gel. Furthermore, a diagnostic band size of 252 bp was observed with primer NoS, thus reconfirming the presence of N. ceranae. This study appears to be the first to report the detect of N. ceranae species from India in samples of A. mellifera.

First Detection of <italic>Nosema ceranae</italic> Infecting <italic>Apis mellifera</italic> in India

Dr. Y S Parmar University of Horticulture and Foresrty

Journal of Apicultural Science

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 License.

Apis mellifera colonies were sampled for over twelve months to study the Nosema infection in different apiaries of Himachal Pradesh, India. We found that the...

First Detection of Nosema ceranae Infecting Apis mellifera in India

Published Online: Jun 26, 2019

Page range: 165 - 170

Received: Aug 18, 2018

Accepted: Nov 16, 2018

DOI: https://doi.org/10.2478/jas-2019-0002

Keywords
India, microscopy, Multiplex PCR,

© 2019 Divya Sharma et al., published by Sciendo

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 License.

First Detection of Nosema ceranae Infecting Apis mellifera in India

Published Online: Jun 26, 2019

Page range: 165 - 170

Received: Aug 18, 2018

Accepted: Nov 16, 2018

DOI: https://doi.org/10.2478/jas-2019-0002

KeywordsIndia, microscopy, Multiplex PCR,

© 2019 Divya Sharma et al., published by Sciendo

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 License.

Keywords
India, microscopy, Multiplex PCR,