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Cappellari A, Malagnini V, Fontana P, Zanotelli L, Tonidandel L, Angeli G, Ioriatti C, Marini L. Impact of landscape composition on honey bee pollen contamination by pesticides: A multi-residue analysis. CHEMOSPHERE 2024; 349:140829. [PMID: 38042427 DOI: 10.1016/j.chemosphere.2023.140829] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/05/2023] [Revised: 11/24/2023] [Accepted: 11/26/2023] [Indexed: 12/04/2023]
Abstract
The honey bee is the most common and important managed pollinator of crops. In recent years, honey bee colonies faced high mortality for multiple causes, including land-use change and the use of plant protection products (hereafter pesticides). This work aimed to explore how contamination by pesticides of pollen collected by honey bees was modulated by landscape composition and seasonality. We placed two honey bee colonies in 13 locations in Northern Italy in contrasting landscapes, from which we collected pollen samples monthly during the whole flowering season in 2019 and 2020. We searched for almost 400 compounds, including fungicides, herbicides, insecticides, and acaricides. We then calculated for each pollen sample the Pollen Hazard Quotient (PHQ), an index that provides a measure of multi-residue toxicity of contaminated pollen. Almost all pollen samples were contaminated by at least one compound. We detected 97 compounds, mainly fungicides, but insecticides and acaricides showed the highest toxicity. Fifteen % of the pollen samples had medium-high or high levels of PHQ, which could pose serious threats to honey bees. Fungicides showed a nearly constant PHQ throughout the season, while herbicides and insecticides and acaricides showed higher PHQ values in spring and early summer. Also, PHQ increased with increasing cover of agricultural and urban areas from April to July, while it was low and independent of landscape composition at the end of the season. The cover of perennial crops, i.e., fruit trees and vineyards, but not of annual crops, increased PHQ of pollen samples. Our work highlighted that the potential toxicity of pollen collected by honey bees was modulated by complex interactions among pesticide category, seasonality, and landscape composition. Due to the large number of compounds detected, our study should be complemented with additional experimental research on the potential interactive effects of multiple compounds on honey bee health.
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Affiliation(s)
- Andree Cappellari
- University of Padova, Department of Agronomy, Food, Natural Resources, Animals and Environment, Viale Dell'Università 16, 35020, Legnaro, PD, Italy.
| | - Valeria Malagnini
- Edmund Mach Foundation, Technology Transfer Centre, Via Edmund Mach 1, 38010, San Michele All'Adige, TN, Italy
| | - Paolo Fontana
- Edmund Mach Foundation, Technology Transfer Centre, Via Edmund Mach 1, 38010, San Michele All'Adige, TN, Italy
| | - Livia Zanotelli
- Edmund Mach Foundation, Technology Transfer Centre, Via Edmund Mach 1, 38010, San Michele All'Adige, TN, Italy
| | - Loris Tonidandel
- Edmund Mach Foundation, Technology Transfer Centre, Via Edmund Mach 1, 38010, San Michele All'Adige, TN, Italy
| | - Gino Angeli
- Edmund Mach Foundation, Technology Transfer Centre, Via Edmund Mach 1, 38010, San Michele All'Adige, TN, Italy
| | - Claudio Ioriatti
- Edmund Mach Foundation, Research and Innovation Centre, Via Edmund Mach 1, 38010, San Michele All'Adige, TN, Italy
| | - Lorenzo Marini
- University of Padova, Department of Agronomy, Food, Natural Resources, Animals and Environment, Viale Dell'Università 16, 35020, Legnaro, PD, Italy
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2
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Taylor LN, Dolezal AG. The effect of Israeli acute paralysis virus infection on honey bee brood care behavior. Sci Rep 2024; 14:991. [PMID: 38200122 PMCID: PMC10781695 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-023-50585-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/14/2023] [Accepted: 12/21/2023] [Indexed: 01/12/2024] Open
Abstract
To protect themselves from communicable diseases, social insects utilize social immunity-behavioral, physiological, and organizational means to combat disease transmission and severity. Within a honey bee colony, larvae are visited thousands of times by nurse bees, representing a prime environment for pathogen transmission. We investigated a potential social immune response to Israeli acute paralysis virus (IAPV) infection in brood care, testing the hypotheses that bees will respond with behaviors that result in reduced brood care, or that infection results in elevated brood care as a virus-driven mechanism to increase transmission. We tested for group-level effects by comparing three different social environments in which 0%, 50%, or 100% of nurse bees were experimentally infected with IAPV. We investigated individual-level effects by comparing exposed bees to unexposed bees within the mixed-exposure treatment group. We found no evidence for a social immune response at the group level; however, individually, exposed bees interacted with the larva more frequently than their unexposed nestmates. While this could increase virus transmission from adults to larvae, it could also represent a hygienic response to increase grooming when an infection is detected. Together, our findings underline the complexity of disease dynamics in complex social animal systems.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lincoln N Taylor
- Department of Entomology, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, IL, 61801, USA.
| | - Adam G Dolezal
- Department of Entomology, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, IL, 61801, USA
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3
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Vernier CL, Nguyen LA, Gernat T, Ahmed AC, Chen Z, Robinson GE. Gut microbiota contribute to variations in honey bee foraging intensity. THE ISME JOURNAL 2024; 18:wrae030. [PMID: 38412118 PMCID: PMC11008687 DOI: 10.1093/ismejo/wrae030] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/08/2023] [Revised: 01/17/2024] [Accepted: 02/23/2024] [Indexed: 02/29/2024]
Abstract
Gut microbiomes are increasingly recognized for mediating diverse biological aspects of their hosts, including complex behavioral phenotypes. Although many studies have reported that experimental disruptions to the gut microbial community result in atypical host behavior, studies that address how gut microbes contribute to adaptive behavioral trait variation are rare. Eusocial insects represent a powerful model to test this, because of their simple gut microbiota and complex division of labor characterized by colony-level variation in behavioral phenotypes. Although previous studies report correlational differences in gut microbial community associated with division of labor, here, we provide evidence that gut microbes play a causal role in defining differences in foraging behavior between European honey bees (Apis mellifera). We found that gut microbial community structure differed between hive-based nurse bees and bees that leave the hive to forage for floral resources. These differences were associated with variation in the abundance of individual microbes, including Bifidobacterium asteroides, Bombilactobacillus mellis, and Lactobacillus melliventris. Manipulations of colony demography and individual foraging experience suggested that differences in gut microbial community composition were associated with task experience. Moreover, single-microbe inoculations with B. asteroides, B. mellis, and L. melliventris caused effects on foraging intensity. These results demonstrate that gut microbes contribute to division of labor in a social insect, and support a role of gut microbes in modulating host behavioral trait variation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Cassondra L Vernier
- Carl R. Woese Institute for Genomic Biology, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, IL 61801, United States
| | - Lan Anh Nguyen
- Carl R. Woese Institute for Genomic Biology, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, IL 61801, United States
| | - Tim Gernat
- Carl R. Woese Institute for Genomic Biology, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, IL 61801, United States
| | - Amy Cash Ahmed
- Carl R. Woese Institute for Genomic Biology, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, IL 61801, United States
| | - Zhenqing Chen
- Carl R. Woese Institute for Genomic Biology, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, IL 61801, United States
| | - Gene E Robinson
- Carl R. Woese Institute for Genomic Biology, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, IL 61801, United States
- Department of Entomology, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, IL 61810, United States
- Neuroscience Program, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, IL 61801, United States
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4
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Doublet V, Oddie MAY, Mondet F, Forsgren E, Dahle B, Furuseth-Hansen E, Williams GR, De Smet L, Natsopoulou ME, Murray TE, Semberg E, Yañez O, de Graaf DC, Le Conte Y, Neumann P, Rimstad E, Paxton RJ, de Miranda JR. Shift in virus composition in honeybees ( Apis mellifera) following worldwide invasion by the parasitic mite and virus vector Varroa destructor. ROYAL SOCIETY OPEN SCIENCE 2024; 11:231529. [PMID: 38204792 PMCID: PMC10776227 DOI: 10.1098/rsos.231529] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/09/2023] [Accepted: 12/13/2023] [Indexed: 01/12/2024]
Abstract
Invasive vectors can induce dramatic changes in disease epidemiology. While viral emergence following geographical range expansion of a vector is well known, the influence a vector can have at the level of the host's pathobiome is less well understood. Taking advantage of the formerly heterogeneous spatial distribution of the ectoparasitic mite Varroa destructor that acts as potent virus vector among honeybees Apis mellifera, we investigated the impact of its recent global spread on the viral community of honeybees in a retrospective study of historical samples. We hypothesized that the vector has had an effect on the epidemiology of several bee viruses, potentially altering their transmissibility and/or virulence, and consequently their prevalence, abundance, or both. To test this, we quantified the prevalence and loads of 14 viruses from honeybee samples collected in mite-free and mite-infested populations in four independent geographical regions. The presence of the mite dramatically increased the prevalence and load of deformed wing virus, a cause of unsustainably high colony losses. In addition, several other viruses became more prevalent or were found at higher load in mite-infested areas, including viruses not known to be actively varroa-transmitted, but which may increase opportunistically in varroa-parasitized bees.
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Affiliation(s)
- Vincent Doublet
- Institute of Evolutionary Ecology and Conservation Genomics, University of Ulm, Albert-Einstein-Allee 11, 89081 Ulm, Germany
- Institute for Biology, Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg, Halle (Saale) 061200, Germany
| | - Melissa A. Y. Oddie
- Department of Ecology, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Uppsala 750 07, Sweden
- Norwegian Beekeepers Association, Kløfta 2040, Norway
| | - Fanny Mondet
- INRAE, UR 406 Abeilles et Environnement, Avignon 84914, France
| | - Eva Forsgren
- Department of Ecology, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Uppsala 750 07, Sweden
| | - Bjørn Dahle
- Norwegian Beekeepers Association, Kløfta 2040, Norway
| | - Elisabeth Furuseth-Hansen
- Department of Food Safety and Infection Biology, Norwegian University of Life Sciences, Ås 1432, Norway
| | - Geoffrey R. Williams
- Institute of Bee Health, Vetsuisse Faculty, University of Bern, Bern 3097, Switzerland
- Entomology & Plant Pathology, Auburn University, Auburn, AL 36832, USA
| | - Lina De Smet
- Department of Biochemistry and Microbiology, Ghent University, Ghent 9000, Belgium
| | - Myrsini E. Natsopoulou
- Institute for Biology, Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg, Halle (Saale) 061200, Germany
| | - Tomás E. Murray
- Institute for Biology, Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg, Halle (Saale) 061200, Germany
| | - Emilia Semberg
- Department of Ecology, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Uppsala 750 07, Sweden
| | - Orlando Yañez
- Institute of Bee Health, Vetsuisse Faculty, University of Bern, Bern 3097, Switzerland
| | - Dirk C. de Graaf
- Department of Biochemistry and Microbiology, Ghent University, Ghent 9000, Belgium
| | - Yves Le Conte
- INRAE, UR 406 Abeilles et Environnement, Avignon 84914, France
| | - Peter Neumann
- Institute of Bee Health, Vetsuisse Faculty, University of Bern, Bern 3097, Switzerland
| | - Espen Rimstad
- Department of Food Safety and Infection Biology, Norwegian University of Life Sciences, Ås 1432, Norway
| | - Robert J. Paxton
- Institute for Biology, Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg, Halle (Saale) 061200, Germany
- German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv) Halle-Jena-Leipzig, 04103, Germany
| | - Joachim R. de Miranda
- Department of Ecology, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Uppsala 750 07, Sweden
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5
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Lu RX, Bhatia S, Simone-Finstrom M, Rueppell O. Quantitative trait loci mapping for survival of virus infection and virus levels in honey bees. INFECTION, GENETICS AND EVOLUTION : JOURNAL OF MOLECULAR EPIDEMIOLOGY AND EVOLUTIONARY GENETICS IN INFECTIOUS DISEASES 2023; 116:105534. [PMID: 38036199 DOI: 10.1016/j.meegid.2023.105534] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/22/2023] [Revised: 11/22/2023] [Accepted: 11/25/2023] [Indexed: 12/02/2023]
Abstract
Israeli acute paralysis virus (IAPV) is a highly virulent, Varroa-vectored virus that is of global concern for honey bee health. Little is known about the genetic basis of honey bees to withstand infection with IAPV or other viruses. We set up and analyzed a backcross between preselected honey bee colonies of low and high IAPV susceptibility to identify quantitative trait loci (QTL) associated with IAPV susceptibility. Experimentally inoculated adult worker bees were surveyed for survival and selectively sampled for QTL analysis based on SNPs identified by whole-genome resequencing and composite interval mapping. Additionally, natural titers of other viruses were quantified in the abdomen of these workers via qPCR and also used for QTL mapping. In addition to the full dataset, we analyzed distinct subpopulations of susceptible and non-susceptible workers separately. These subpopulations are distinguished by a single, suggestive QTL on chromosome 6, but we identified numerous other QTL for different abdominal virus titers, particularly in the subpopulation that was not susceptible to IAPV. The pronounced QTL differences between the susceptible and non-susceptible subpopulations indicate either an interaction between IAPV infection and the bees' interaction with other viruses or heterogeneity among workers of a single cohort that manifests itself as IAPV susceptibility and results in distinct subgroups that differ in their interaction with other viruses. Furthermore, our results indicate that low susceptibility of honey bees to viruses can be caused by both, virus tolerance and virus resistance. QTL were partially overlapping among different viruses, indicating a mixture of shared and specific processes that control viruses. Some functional candidate genes are located in the QTL intervals, but their genomic co-localization with numerous genes of unknown function delegates any definite characterization of the underlying molecular mechanisms to future studies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Robert X Lu
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Alberta, 116 Street & 85 Avenue, Edmonton, Alberta, T6G 2E9, Canada
| | - Shilpi Bhatia
- Department of Biology, North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University, 1601 E Market Street, Greensboro, NC 27411, USA
| | - Michael Simone-Finstrom
- USDA-ARS Honey Bee Breeding, Genetics and Physiology Research Laboratory, 1157 Ben Hur Road, Baton Rouge, LA 70820, USA
| | - Olav Rueppell
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Alberta, 116 Street & 85 Avenue, Edmonton, Alberta, T6G 2E9, Canada; Department of Biology, University of North Carolina at Greensboro, 321 McIver Street, Greensboro, NC 27412, USA.
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6
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Jhawar J, Davidson JD, Weidenmüller A, Wild B, Dormagen DM, Landgraf T, Couzin ID, Smith ML. How honeybees respond to heat stress from the individual to colony level. J R Soc Interface 2023; 20:20230290. [PMID: 37848056 PMCID: PMC10581772 DOI: 10.1098/rsif.2023.0290] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/18/2023] [Accepted: 09/22/2023] [Indexed: 10/19/2023] Open
Abstract
A honey bee colony functions as an integrated collective, with individuals coordinating their behaviour to adapt and respond to unexpected disturbances. Nest homeostasis is critical for colony function; when ambient temperatures increase, individuals switch to thermoregulatory roles to cool the nest, such as fanning and water collection. While prior work has focused on bees engaged in specific behaviours, less is known about how responses are coordinated at the colony level, and how previous tasks predict behavioural changes during a heat stress. Using BeesBook automated tracking, we follow thousands of individuals during an experimentally induced heat stress, and analyse their behavioural changes from the individual to colony level. We show that heat stress causes an overall increase in activity levels and a spatial reorganization of bees away from the brood area. Using a generalized framework to analyse individual behaviour, we find that individuals differ in their response to heat stress, which depends on their prior behaviour and correlates with age. Examining the correlation of behavioural metrics over time suggests that heat stress perturbation does not have a long-lasting effect on an individual's future behaviour. These results demonstrate how thousands of individuals within a colony change their behaviour to achieve a coordinated response to an environmental disturbance.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jitesh Jhawar
- Department of Collective Behaviour, Max Planck Institute of Animal Behavior, 78464 Konstanz, Germany
- Department of Biology, University of Konstanz, 78464 Konstanz, Germany
- Centre for the Advanced Study of Collective Behaviour, University of Konstanz, 78464 Konstanz, Germany
- School of Arts and Sciences, Ahmedabad University, 380009, Ahmedabad, Gujarat, India
| | - Jacob D. Davidson
- Department of Collective Behaviour, Max Planck Institute of Animal Behavior, 78464 Konstanz, Germany
- Department of Biology, University of Konstanz, 78464 Konstanz, Germany
- Centre for the Advanced Study of Collective Behaviour, University of Konstanz, 78464 Konstanz, Germany
| | - Anja Weidenmüller
- Department of Biology, University of Konstanz, 78464 Konstanz, Germany
- Centre for the Advanced Study of Collective Behaviour, University of Konstanz, 78464 Konstanz, Germany
| | - Benjamin Wild
- Department of Mathematics and Computer Science, Freie Universität Berlin, 14195 Berlin, Germany
| | - David M. Dormagen
- Department of Mathematics and Computer Science, Freie Universität Berlin, 14195 Berlin, Germany
| | - Tim Landgraf
- Department of Mathematics and Computer Science, Freie Universität Berlin, 14195 Berlin, Germany
| | - Iain D. Couzin
- Department of Collective Behaviour, Max Planck Institute of Animal Behavior, 78464 Konstanz, Germany
- Department of Biology, University of Konstanz, 78464 Konstanz, Germany
- Centre for the Advanced Study of Collective Behaviour, University of Konstanz, 78464 Konstanz, Germany
| | - Michael L. Smith
- Department of Collective Behaviour, Max Planck Institute of Animal Behavior, 78464 Konstanz, Germany
- Department of Biology, University of Konstanz, 78464 Konstanz, Germany
- Centre for the Advanced Study of Collective Behaviour, University of Konstanz, 78464 Konstanz, Germany
- Department of Biological Sciences, Auburn University, 36849 Auburn AL, USA
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7
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Turner JW, Prokopenko CM, Kingdon KA, Dupont DLJ, Zabihi-Seissan S, Vander Wal E. Death comes for us all: relating movement-integrated habitat selection and social behavior to human-associated and disease-related mortality among gray wolves. Oecologia 2023; 202:685-697. [PMID: 37515598 DOI: 10.1007/s00442-023-05426-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/21/2022] [Accepted: 07/19/2023] [Indexed: 07/31/2023]
Abstract
Avoiding death affects biological processes, including behavior. Habitat selection, movement, and sociality are highly flexible behaviors that influence the mortality risks and subsequent fitness of individuals. In the Anthropocene, animals are experiencing increased risks from direct human causes and increased spread of infectious diseases. Using integrated step selection analysis, we tested how the habitat selection, movement, and social behaviors of gray wolves vary in the two months prior to death due to humans (being shot or trapped) or canine distemper virus (CDV). We further tested how those behaviors vary as a prelude to death. We studied populations of wolves that occurred under two different management schemes: a national park managed for conservation and a provincially managed multi-use area. Behaviors that changed prior to death were strongly related to how an animal eventually died. Wolves killed by humans moved slower than wolves that survived and selected to be nearer roads closer in time to their death. Wolves that died due to CDV moved progressively slower as they neared death and reduced their avoidance of wet habitats. All animals, regardless of dying or living, maintained selection to be near packmates across time, which seemingly contributed to disease dynamics in the packs infected with CDV. There were no noticeable differences in behavior between the two management areas. Overall, habitat selection, movement, and sociality interact to put individuals and groups at greater risks, influencing their cause-specific mortality.
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Affiliation(s)
- Julie W Turner
- Department of Biology, Memorial University of Newfoundland, 45 Arctic Ave., St. John's, NL, A1B 3X9, Canada.
| | - Christina M Prokopenko
- Department of Biology, Memorial University of Newfoundland, 45 Arctic Ave., St. John's, NL, A1B 3X9, Canada
| | - Katrien A Kingdon
- Department of Biology, Memorial University of Newfoundland, 45 Arctic Ave., St. John's, NL, A1B 3X9, Canada
| | - Daniel L J Dupont
- Department of Biology, Memorial University of Newfoundland, 45 Arctic Ave., St. John's, NL, A1B 3X9, Canada
- Département des sciences expérimentales, Université de Saint-Boniface, 200 ave de la Cathédrale, Winnipeg, MB, R2H 0H7, Canada
| | - Sana Zabihi-Seissan
- Department of Biology, Memorial University of Newfoundland, 45 Arctic Ave., St. John's, NL, A1B 3X9, Canada
| | - Eric Vander Wal
- Department of Biology, Memorial University of Newfoundland, 45 Arctic Ave., St. John's, NL, A1B 3X9, Canada
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8
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McCormick EC, Cohen OR, Dolezal AG, Sadd BM. Consequences of microsporidian prior exposure for virus infection outcomes and bumble bee host health. Oecologia 2023:10.1007/s00442-023-05394-x. [PMID: 37284861 DOI: 10.1007/s00442-023-05394-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/04/2022] [Accepted: 05/24/2023] [Indexed: 06/08/2023]
Abstract
Host-parasite interactions do not occur in a vacuum, but in connected multi-parasite networks that can result in co-exposures and coinfections of individual hosts. These can affect host health and disease ecology, including disease outbreaks. However, many host-parasite studies examine pairwise interactions, meaning we still lack a general understanding of the influence of co-exposures and coinfections. Using the bumble bee Bombus impatiens, we study the effects of larval exposure to a microsporidian Nosema bombi, implicated in bumble bee declines, and adult exposure to Israeli Acute Paralysis Virus (IAPV), an emerging infectious disease from honey bee parasite spillover. We hypothesize that infection outcomes will be modified by co-exposure or coinfection. Nosema bombi is a potentially severe, larval-infecting parasite, and we predict that prior exposure will result in decreased host resistance to adult IAPV infection. We predict double parasite exposure will also reduce host tolerance of infection, as measured by host survival. Although our larval Nosema exposure mostly did not result in viable infections, it partially reduced resistance to adult IAPV infection. Nosema exposure also negatively affected survival, potentially due to a cost of immunity in resisting the exposure. There was a significant negative effect of IAPV exposure on survivorship, but prior Nosema exposure did not alter this survival outcome, suggesting increased tolerance given the higher IAPV infections in the bees previously exposed to Nosema. These results again demonstrate that infection outcomes can be non-independent when multiple parasites are present, even when exposure to one parasite does not result in a substantial infection.
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Affiliation(s)
- Elyse C McCormick
- School of Biological Sciences, Illinois State University, Normal, IL, 61790, USA
| | - Olivia R Cohen
- School of Biological Sciences, Illinois State University, Normal, IL, 61790, USA
| | - Adam G Dolezal
- School of Integrated Biology, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, IL, 61801, USA
| | - Ben M Sadd
- School of Biological Sciences, Illinois State University, Normal, IL, 61790, USA.
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9
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Casillas-Pérez B, Boďová K, Grasse AV, Tkačik G, Cremer S. Dynamic pathogen detection and social feedback shape collective hygiene in ants. Nat Commun 2023; 14:3232. [PMID: 37270641 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-023-38947-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/23/2022] [Accepted: 05/23/2023] [Indexed: 06/05/2023] Open
Abstract
Cooperative disease defense emerges as group-level collective behavior, yet how group members make the underlying individual decisions is poorly understood. Using garden ants and fungal pathogens as an experimental model, we derive the rules governing individual ant grooming choices and show how they produce colony-level hygiene. Time-resolved behavioral analysis, pathogen quantification, and probabilistic modeling reveal that ants increase grooming and preferentially target highly-infectious individuals when perceiving high pathogen load, but transiently suppress grooming after having been groomed by nestmates. Ants thus react to both, the infectivity of others and the social feedback they receive on their own contagiousness. While inferred solely from momentary ant decisions, these behavioral rules quantitatively predict hour-long experimental dynamics, and synergistically combine into efficient colony-wide pathogen removal. Our analyses show that noisy individual decisions based on only local, incomplete, yet dynamically-updated information on pathogen threat and social feedback can lead to potent collective disease defense.
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Affiliation(s)
- Barbara Casillas-Pérez
- ISTA (Institute of Science and Technology Austria), Am Campus 1, AT-3400, Klosterneuburg, Austria
| | - Katarína Boďová
- Department of Mathematical Analysis and Numerics, Faculty of Mathematics, Physics, and Informatics, Comenius University, Mlynska Dolina, SK-84248, Bratislava, Slovakia
| | - Anna V Grasse
- ISTA (Institute of Science and Technology Austria), Am Campus 1, AT-3400, Klosterneuburg, Austria
| | - Gašper Tkačik
- ISTA (Institute of Science and Technology Austria), Am Campus 1, AT-3400, Klosterneuburg, Austria.
| | - Sylvia Cremer
- ISTA (Institute of Science and Technology Austria), Am Campus 1, AT-3400, Klosterneuburg, Austria.
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10
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Durand T, Bonjour-Dalmon A, Dubois E. Viral Co-Infections and Antiviral Immunity in Honey Bees. Viruses 2023; 15:v15051217. [PMID: 37243302 DOI: 10.3390/v15051217] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/21/2023] [Revised: 05/16/2023] [Accepted: 05/18/2023] [Indexed: 05/28/2023] Open
Abstract
Over the past few decades, honey bees have been facing an increasing number of stressors. Beyond individual stress factors, the synergies between them have been identified as a key factor in the observed increase in colony mortality. However, these interactions are numerous and complex and call for further research. Here, in line with our need for a systemic understanding of the threats that they pose to bee health, we review the interactions between honey bee viruses. As viruses are obligate parasites, the interactions between them not only depend on the viruses themselves but also on the immune responses of honey bees. Thus, we first summarise our current knowledge of the antiviral immunity of honey bees. We then review the interactions between specific pathogenic viruses and their interactions with their host. Finally, we draw hypotheses from the current literature and suggest directions for future research.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tristan Durand
- National Research Institute for Agriculture Food and Environement, INRAE, UR 406 Abeilles et Environnement, Site Agroparc, 84914 Avignon, France
- French Agency for Food, Environmental and Occupational Health Safety, ANSES, 06902 Sophia Antipolis, France
| | - Anne Bonjour-Dalmon
- National Research Institute for Agriculture Food and Environement, INRAE, UR 406 Abeilles et Environnement, Site Agroparc, 84914 Avignon, France
| | - Eric Dubois
- French Agency for Food, Environmental and Occupational Health Safety, ANSES, 06902 Sophia Antipolis, France
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11
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Karlikow M, Amalfitano E, Yang X, Doucet J, Chapman A, Mousavi PS, Homme P, Sutyrina P, Chan W, Lemak S, Yakunin AF, Dolezal AG, Kelley S, Foster LJ, Harpur BA, Pardee K. CRISPR-induced DNA reorganization for multiplexed nucleic acid detection. Nat Commun 2023; 14:1505. [PMID: 36932065 PMCID: PMC10022571 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-023-36874-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/28/2022] [Accepted: 02/17/2023] [Indexed: 03/19/2023] Open
Abstract
Nucleic acid sensing powered by the sequence recognition of CRIPSR technologies has enabled major advancement toward rapid, accurate and deployable diagnostics. While exciting, there are still many challenges facing their practical implementation, such as the widespread need for a PAM sequence in the targeted nucleic acid, labile RNA inputs, and limited multiplexing. Here we report FACT (Functionalized Amplification CRISPR Tracing), a CRISPR-based nucleic acid barcoding technology compatible with Cas12a and Cas13a, enabling diagnostic outputs based on cis- and trans-cleavage from any sequence. Furthermore, we link the activation of CRISPR-Cas12a to the expression of proteins through a Reprogrammable PAIRing system (RePAIR). We then combine FACT and RePAIR to create FACTOR (FACT on RePAIR), a CRISPR-based diagnostic, that we use to detect infectious disease in an agricultural use case: honey bee viral infection. With high specificity and accuracy, we demonstrate the potential of FACTOR to be applied to the sensing of any nucleic acid of interest.
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Affiliation(s)
- Margot Karlikow
- Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Leslie Dan Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, M5S 3M2, Canada.
| | - Evan Amalfitano
- Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Leslie Dan Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, M5S 3M2, Canada
| | - Xiaolong Yang
- Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Leslie Dan Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, M5S 3M2, Canada
| | - Jennifer Doucet
- Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Leslie Dan Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, M5S 3M2, Canada
| | - Abigail Chapman
- Department of Biochemistry & Molecular Biology, Michael Smith Laboratories, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, V6T 1Z4, Canada
| | - Peivand Sadat Mousavi
- Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Leslie Dan Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, M5S 3M2, Canada
| | - Paige Homme
- Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Leslie Dan Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, M5S 3M2, Canada
| | - Polina Sutyrina
- Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Leslie Dan Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, M5S 3M2, Canada
| | - Winston Chan
- Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Leslie Dan Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, M5S 3M2, Canada
| | - Sofia Lemak
- Department of Chemical Engineering and Applied Chemistry, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, M5S 3E5, Canada
| | - Alexander F Yakunin
- Department of Chemical Engineering and Applied Chemistry, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, M5S 3E5, Canada
- Centre for Environmental Biotechnology, School of Natural Sciences, Bangor University, Bangor, Gwynedd, LL57 2UW, UK
| | - Adam G Dolezal
- Department of Entomology, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, IL, 61801, USA
| | - Shana Kelley
- Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Leslie Dan Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, M5S 3M2, Canada
- Institute of Biomedical Engineering, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, M5S 3G9, Canada
- Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Arts and Science, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, M5S 3H4, Canada
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Genetics, Northwestern University, Chicago, IL, 60611, USA
- Department of Chemistry, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL, 60208, USA
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL, 60208, USA
| | - Leonard J Foster
- Department of Biochemistry & Molecular Biology, Michael Smith Laboratories, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, V6T 1Z4, Canada
| | - Brock A Harpur
- Department of Entomology, Purdue University, 901 W State Street, West Lafayette, IN, 47907, USA
| | - Keith Pardee
- Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Leslie Dan Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, M5S 3M2, Canada.
- Department of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, M5S 1A1, Canada.
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12
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Viljakainen L, Fürst MA, Grasse AV, Jurvansuu J, Oh J, Tolonen L, Eder T, Rattei T, Cremer S. Antiviral immune response reveals host-specific virus infections in natural ant populations. Front Microbiol 2023; 14:1119002. [PMID: 37007485 PMCID: PMC10060816 DOI: 10.3389/fmicb.2023.1119002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/12/2022] [Accepted: 02/23/2023] [Indexed: 03/18/2023] Open
Abstract
Hosts can carry many viruses in their bodies, but not all of them cause disease. We studied ants as a social host to determine both their overall viral repertoire and the subset of actively infecting viruses across natural populations of three subfamilies: the Argentine ant (Linepithema humile, Dolichoderinae), the invasive garden ant (Lasius neglectus, Formicinae) and the red ant (Myrmica rubra, Myrmicinae). We used a dual sequencing strategy to reconstruct complete virus genomes by RNA-seq and to simultaneously determine the small interfering RNAs (siRNAs) by small RNA sequencing (sRNA-seq), which constitute the host antiviral RNAi immune response. This approach led to the discovery of 41 novel viruses in ants and revealed a host ant-specific RNAi response (21 vs. 22 nt siRNAs) in the different ant species. The efficiency of the RNAi response (sRNA/RNA read count ratio) depended on the virus and the respective ant species, but not its population. Overall, we found the highest virus abundance and diversity per population in Li. humile, followed by La. neglectus and M. rubra. Argentine ants also shared a high proportion of viruses between populations, whilst overlap was nearly absent in M. rubra. Only one of the 59 viruses was found to infect two of the ant species as hosts, revealing high host-specificity in active infections. In contrast, six viruses actively infected one ant species, but were found as contaminants only in the others. Disentangling spillover of disease-causing infection from non-infecting contamination across species is providing relevant information for disease ecology and ecosystem management.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lumi Viljakainen
- Ecology and Genetics Research Unit, University of Oulu, Oulu, Finland
- *Correspondence: Lumi Viljakainen,
| | - Matthias A. Fürst
- Institute of Science and Technology Austria (ISTA), Klosterneuburg, Austria
| | - Anna V. Grasse
- Institute of Science and Technology Austria (ISTA), Klosterneuburg, Austria
| | - Jaana Jurvansuu
- Ecology and Genetics Research Unit, University of Oulu, Oulu, Finland
| | - Jinook Oh
- Institute of Science and Technology Austria (ISTA), Klosterneuburg, Austria
| | - Lassi Tolonen
- Ecology and Genetics Research Unit, University of Oulu, Oulu, Finland
| | - Thomas Eder
- Centre for Microbiology and Environmental Systems Science, Division of Computational System Biology, University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria
- Institute for Medical Biochemistry, University of Veterinary Medicine Vienna, Vienna, Austria
| | - Thomas Rattei
- Centre for Microbiology and Environmental Systems Science, Division of Computational System Biology, University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria
| | - Sylvia Cremer
- Institute of Science and Technology Austria (ISTA), Klosterneuburg, Austria
- Sylvia Cremer,
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13
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Valles SM. Solenopsis invicta virus 3 infection alters foraging behavior in its host Solenopsisinvicta. Virology 2023; 581:81-88. [PMID: 36933306 DOI: 10.1016/j.virol.2023.03.003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/03/2023] [Revised: 03/02/2023] [Accepted: 03/08/2023] [Indexed: 03/13/2023]
Abstract
Solenopsis invicta is an invasive ant introduced into the United States in the early 1900s. Control efforts and damage caused by this ant exceed $8 billion annually. Solenopsis invicta virus 3 (SINV-3) is a positive-sense, single-stranded RNA virus (Solinviviridae) that is being used as a classical natural control agent for S. invicta. S. invicta colonies were exposed to purified preparations of SINV-3 to investigate the impact of the virus on the ant. Food retrieval behavior (i.e., foraging) by worker ants was significantly decreased, which led to mortality among all life stages. Queen fecundity and weight were also significantly decreased. The change in food retrieval was associated with the exhibition of an unusual behavior, whereby the remaining live ant workers wedged dead ant worker corpses into and on top of cricket carcasses (the laboratory colony food source). SINV-3 infection alters foraging behavior in S. invicta, which adversely impacts colony nutrition.
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Affiliation(s)
- Steven M Valles
- Center for Medical, Agricultural and Veterinary Entomology, USDA-ARS, 1600 SW 23rd Drive, Gainesville, FL, 32608, USA.
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14
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Automated monitoring of honey bees with barcodes and artificial intelligence reveals two distinct social networks from a single affiliative behavior. Sci Rep 2023; 13:1541. [PMID: 36707534 PMCID: PMC9883485 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-022-26825-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/27/2022] [Accepted: 12/20/2022] [Indexed: 01/28/2023] Open
Abstract
Barcode-based tracking of individuals is revolutionizing animal behavior studies, but further progress hinges on whether in addition to determining an individual's location, specific behaviors can be identified and monitored. We achieve this goal using information from the barcodes to identify tightly bounded image regions that potentially show the behavior of interest. These image regions are then analyzed with convolutional neural networks to verify that the behavior occurred. When applied to a challenging test case, detecting social liquid transfer (trophallaxis) in the honey bee hive, this approach yielded a 67% higher sensitivity and an 11% lower error rate than the best detector for honey bee trophallaxis so far. We were furthermore able to automatically detect whether a bee donates or receives liquid, which previously required manual observations. By applying our trophallaxis detector to recordings from three honey bee colonies and performing simulations, we discovered that liquid exchanges among bees generate two distinct social networks with different transmission capabilities. Finally, we demonstrate that our approach generalizes to detecting other specific behaviors. We envision that its broad application will enable automatic, high-resolution behavioral studies that address a broad range of previously intractable questions in evolutionary biology, ethology, neuroscience, and molecular biology.
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15
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Liberti J, Kay T, Quinn A, Kesner L, Frank ET, Cabirol A, Richardson TO, Engel P, Keller L. The gut microbiota affects the social network of honeybees. Nat Ecol Evol 2022; 6:1471-1479. [PMID: 35995848 PMCID: PMC7613669 DOI: 10.1038/s41559-022-01840-w] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/12/2022] [Accepted: 06/27/2022] [Indexed: 01/14/2023]
Abstract
The gut microbiota influences animal neurodevelopment and behaviour but has not previously been documented to affect group-level properties of social organisms. Here, we use honeybees to probe the effect of the gut microbiota on host social behaviour. We found that the microbiota increased the rate and specialization of head-to-head interactions between bees. Microbiota colonization was associated with higher abundances of one-third of the metabolites detected in the brain, including amino acids with roles in synaptic transmission and brain energetic function. Some of these metabolites were significant predictors of the number of social interactions. Microbiota colonization also affected brain transcriptional processes related to amino acid metabolism and epigenetic modifications in a brain region involved in sensory perception. These results demonstrate that the gut microbiota modulates the emergent colony social network of honeybees and suggest changes in chromatin accessibility and amino acid biosynthesis as underlying processes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Joanito Liberti
- Department of Ecology and Evolution, University of Lausanne, Lausanne, Switzerland.
- Department of Fundamental Microbiology, University of Lausanne, Lausanne, Switzerland.
| | - Tomas Kay
- Department of Ecology and Evolution, University of Lausanne, Lausanne, Switzerland
| | - Andrew Quinn
- Department of Fundamental Microbiology, University of Lausanne, Lausanne, Switzerland
| | - Lucie Kesner
- Department of Fundamental Microbiology, University of Lausanne, Lausanne, Switzerland
| | - Erik T Frank
- Department of Ecology and Evolution, University of Lausanne, Lausanne, Switzerland
- Department of Animal Ecology and Tropical Biology, University of Würzburg, Würzburg, Germany
| | - Amélie Cabirol
- Department of Fundamental Microbiology, University of Lausanne, Lausanne, Switzerland
| | - Thomas O Richardson
- Department of Ecology and Evolution, University of Lausanne, Lausanne, Switzerland
| | - Philipp Engel
- Department of Fundamental Microbiology, University of Lausanne, Lausanne, Switzerland.
| | - Laurent Keller
- Department of Ecology and Evolution, University of Lausanne, Lausanne, Switzerland.
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16
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Multiple benefits of breeding honey bees for hygienic behavior. J Invertebr Pathol 2022; 193:107788. [DOI: 10.1016/j.jip.2022.107788] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/03/2022] [Revised: 06/11/2022] [Accepted: 06/15/2022] [Indexed: 11/20/2022]
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17
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Moran MN, Aguero CM, Eyer PA, Vargo EL. Rescue Strategy in a Termite: Workers Exposed to a Fungal Pathogen Are Reintegrated Into the Colony. Front Ecol Evol 2022. [DOI: 10.3389/fevo.2022.840223] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Social insect colonies are characterized by an efficient division of labor, allowing high-value individuals (i.e., reproductives and brood) to be sheltered from tasks associated with increased risk of pathogen exposure, such as foraging or corpse disposal. This social organization helps limit the transmission of disease throughout the colony. Further, individuals can actively respond to imminent disease threats by altering their behaviors as a means of social immunity. In subterranean termites, although workers typically avoid detected pathogens, they can be attracted to pathogen cues when a nestmate is infected. Infected termites are usually groomed, but they may instead be cannibalized if the infection has already become lethal. The mechanisms governing these changes in behavior are unclear. We set out to examine immediate changes in individual behaviors, investigating the role that the infected individual plays in communicating its infection status to nestmates. We also assessed gradual changes in social organization after the re-introduction of an infected termite to the colony. Our results reveal that infected termites likely do not signal their infection status to nestmates through shaking behaviors and reduced movements, suggesting the occurrence of other mechanisms used in communicating infection. We also found that infected termites do not self-isolate and may travel to the densest part of the colony, where they can potentially benefit from grooming by large groups of nestmates. These results provide new insights into how individual changes in immune behaviors contribute to overall colony health, highlighting that, at early stages of infection, termites favor a rescuing strategy rather than isolation and/or cannibalization.
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18
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Penn HJ, Simone-Finstrom MD, de Guzman LI, Tokarz PG, Dickens R. Colony-Level Viral Load Influences Collective Foraging in Honey Bees. FRONTIERS IN INSECT SCIENCE 2022; 2:894482. [PMID: 38468777 PMCID: PMC10926460 DOI: 10.3389/finsc.2022.894482] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/11/2022] [Accepted: 04/13/2022] [Indexed: 03/13/2024]
Abstract
Nutrition is an important component of social insect colony health especially in the face of stressors such as parasitism and viral infections. Honey bees are known to preferentially select nectar and pollen based on macronutrient and phytochemical contents and in response to pathogen loads. However, given that honey bees live in colonies, collective foraging decisions may be impacted directly by forager infection status but also by colony health. This field experiment was conducted to determine if honey bee viral infections are correlated with pollen and nectar foraging and if these associations are impacted more by colony or forager infection. By comparing regressions with and without forager and colony variables and through structural equation models, we were able to determine the relative contributions of colony and forager virus loads on forager decisions. We found that foragers had higher numbers and levels of BQCV and CBPV but lower levels of DWV viruses than their respective colonies. Overall, individuals appeared to forage based a combination of their own and colony health but with greater weight given to colony metrics. Colony parasitism by Varroa mites, positively correlated with both forager and colony DWV-B levels, was negatively associated with nectar weight. Further, colony DWV-B levels were negatively associated with individually foraged pollen protein: lipid ratios but positively correlated with nectar weight and sugar content. This study shows that both colony and forager health can simultaneously mediate individual foraging decisions and that the importance of viral infections and parasite levels varies with foraging metrics. Overall, this work highlights the continued need to explore the interactions of disease, nutrition, and genetics in social interactions and structures.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hannah J. Penn
- USDA ARS, Sugarcane Research Unit, Houma, LA, United States
| | - Michael D. Simone-Finstrom
- USDA ARS, Honey Bee Breeding, Genetics and Physiology Research Laboratory, Baton Rouge, LA, United States
| | - Lilia I. de Guzman
- USDA ARS, Honey Bee Breeding, Genetics and Physiology Research Laboratory, Baton Rouge, LA, United States
| | - Philip G. Tokarz
- USDA ARS, Honey Bee Breeding, Genetics and Physiology Research Laboratory, Baton Rouge, LA, United States
| | - Rachel Dickens
- USDA ARS, Honey Bee Breeding, Genetics and Physiology Research Laboratory, Baton Rouge, LA, United States
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19
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Migdał P, Berbeć E, Bieńkowski P, Plotnik M, Murawska A, Latarowski K. Exposure to Magnetic Fields Changes the Behavioral Pattern in Honeybees (Apis mellifera L.) under Laboratory Conditions. Animals (Basel) 2022; 12:ani12070855. [PMID: 35405844 PMCID: PMC8996969 DOI: 10.3390/ani12070855] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/24/2022] [Revised: 02/17/2022] [Accepted: 03/22/2022] [Indexed: 12/24/2022] Open
Abstract
Simple Summary Electrically powered devices and power lines generate electromagnetic fields. Technological development has resulted in environmental pollution with anthropogenic electromagnetic fields. One of its components is the magnetic field. Its impact on living organisms is still under investigation, but there are reports suggesting that the direction of change is negative. Pollinators are very important for the environment and are also exposed to this factor. In this study, we wanted to investigate the impact of magnetic field exposure on the behavior of one of the key pollinators: the honeybee. The frequency of the tested field corresponded to those present under high voltage lines, as honeybees often forage in these areas. The results showed that the magnetic field caused a distribution in behavioral patterns, which may have a direct impact on foraging efficiency and pollination success. Abstract Earth’s magnetic field (MF) plays an important role for many species, including the honeybee, in navigation. Nowadays, much larger alternating fields are emitted by miscellaneous electric infrastructure components, such as transformers and power lines, and the environment is therefore polluted by an anthropogenic electromagnetic field, though little is known regarding its impact on living organisms. The behavior of animals is the first and easiest way to establish the impact of stress. It shows if the animal can detect the exposure and react to it. To investigate this, one-day-old bees were exposed to a 50 Hz magnetic field of induction at 1 mT and 1.7 mT for 10 min, 1 h, and 3 h under laboratory conditions. All groups exposed to the magnetic field showed differences in behavioral patterns. What is more, they presented a behavior absent in the control: loss of balance. There were differences, both in the ratio of behaviors and in the number of bouts—exposed bees more often changed behavior. Occurrence of differences is an indication of the reaction of the honeybee organism to the magnetic field. Loss of balance is a disturbing symptom, and behavior changes indicate a disturbance of the honeybee by the electromagnetic field.
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Affiliation(s)
- Paweł Migdał
- Bee Division, Department of Environment, Hygiene and Animal Welfare, Wroclaw University of Environmental and Life Sciences, 25 C.K. Norwida St., 51-630 Wroclaw, Poland; (E.B.); (M.P.); (A.M.)
- Correspondence:
| | - Ewelina Berbeć
- Bee Division, Department of Environment, Hygiene and Animal Welfare, Wroclaw University of Environmental and Life Sciences, 25 C.K. Norwida St., 51-630 Wroclaw, Poland; (E.B.); (M.P.); (A.M.)
| | - Paweł Bieńkowski
- Telecommunications and Teleinformatics Department, Wroclaw University of Science and Technology, 27 Wybrzeze Wyspianskiego St., 50-370 Wroclaw, Poland;
| | - Mateusz Plotnik
- Bee Division, Department of Environment, Hygiene and Animal Welfare, Wroclaw University of Environmental and Life Sciences, 25 C.K. Norwida St., 51-630 Wroclaw, Poland; (E.B.); (M.P.); (A.M.)
| | - Agnieszka Murawska
- Bee Division, Department of Environment, Hygiene and Animal Welfare, Wroclaw University of Environmental and Life Sciences, 25 C.K. Norwida St., 51-630 Wroclaw, Poland; (E.B.); (M.P.); (A.M.)
| | - Krzysztof Latarowski
- Department of Human Nutrition, Wroclaw University of Environmental and Life Science, 25 C.K. Norwida St., 51-630 Wroclaw, Poland;
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20
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Traniello IM, Hamilton AR, Gernat T, Cash-Ahmed AC, Harwood GP, Ray AM, Glavin A, Torres J, Goldenfeld N, Robinson GE. Context-dependent influence of threat on honey bee social network dynamics and brain gene expression. J Exp Biol 2022; 225:jeb243738. [PMID: 35202460 PMCID: PMC9001921 DOI: 10.1242/jeb.243738] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/02/2021] [Accepted: 02/17/2022] [Indexed: 11/20/2022]
Abstract
Adverse social experience affects social structure by modifying the behavior of individuals, but the relationship between an individual's behavioral state and its response to adversity is poorly understood. We leveraged naturally occurring division of labor in honey bees and studied the biological embedding of environmental threat using laboratory assays and automated behavioral tracking of whole colonies. Guard bees showed low intrinsic levels of sociability compared with foragers and nurse bees, but large increases in sociability following exposure to a threat. Threat experience also modified the expression of caregiving-related genes in a brain region called the mushroom bodies. These results demonstrate that the biological embedding of environmental experience depends on an individual's societal role and, in turn, affects its future sociability.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ian M. Traniello
- Carl R. Woese Institute for Genomic Biology, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, IL 61801, USA
- Neuroscience Program, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, IL 61801, USA
| | - Adam R. Hamilton
- Carl R. Woese Institute for Genomic Biology, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, IL 61801, USA
- Neuroscience Program, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, IL 61801, USA
| | - Tim Gernat
- Carl R. Woese Institute for Genomic Biology, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, IL 61801, USA
- Swarm Intelligence and Complex Systems Group, Department of Computer Science, Leipzig University, Liepzig D-04109, Germany
| | - Amy C. Cash-Ahmed
- Carl R. Woese Institute for Genomic Biology, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, IL 61801, USA
| | - Gyan P. Harwood
- Department of Entomology, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, IL 61801, USA
| | - Allyson M. Ray
- Carl R. Woese Institute for Genomic Biology, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, IL 61801, USA
| | - Abigail Glavin
- Carl R. Woese Institute for Genomic Biology, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, IL 61801, USA
| | - Jacob Torres
- Department of Entomology, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, IL 61801, USA
| | - Nigel Goldenfeld
- Department of Physics, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, IL 61801, USA
| | - Gene E. Robinson
- Carl R. Woese Institute for Genomic Biology, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, IL 61801, USA
- Neuroscience Program, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, IL 61801, USA
- Department of Entomology, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, IL 61801, USA
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21
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Gagne RB, Crooks KR, Craft ME, Chiu ES, Fountain-Jones NM, Malmberg JL, Carver S, Funk WC, VandeWoude S. Parasites as conservation tools. CONSERVATION BIOLOGY : THE JOURNAL OF THE SOCIETY FOR CONSERVATION BIOLOGY 2022; 36:e13719. [PMID: 33586245 DOI: 10.1111/cobi.13719] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/16/2020] [Accepted: 02/08/2021] [Indexed: 06/12/2023]
Abstract
Parasite success typically depends on a close relationship with one or more hosts; therefore, attributes of parasitic infection have the potential to provide indirect details of host natural history and are biologically relevant to animal conservation. Characterization of parasite infections has been useful in delineating host populations and has served as a proxy for assessment of environmental quality. In other cases, the utility of parasites is just being explored, for example, as indicators of host connectivity. Innovative studies of parasite biology can provide information to manage major conservation threats by using parasite assemblage, prevalence, or genetic data to provide insights into the host. Overexploitation, habitat loss and fragmentation, invasive species, and climate change are major threats to animal conservation, and all of these can be informed by parasites.
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Affiliation(s)
- Roderick B Gagne
- Department of Microbiology, Immunology, and Pathology, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, Colorado, USA
| | - Kevin R Crooks
- Department of Fish, Wildlife, and Conservation Biology, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, Colorado, USA
| | - Meggan E Craft
- Department of Veterinary Population Medicine, University of Minnesota, St Paul, Minnesota, USA
| | - Elliott S Chiu
- Department of Microbiology, Immunology, and Pathology, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, Colorado, USA
| | | | - Jennifer L Malmberg
- Department of Veterinary Sciences, Wyoming State Veterinary Laboratory, University of Wyoming, Laramie, Wyoming, USA
| | - Scott Carver
- School of Natural Sciences, University of Tasmania, Hobart, Tasmania, Australia
| | - W Chris Funk
- Graduate Degree Program in Ecology, Department of Biology, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, Colorado, USA
| | - Sue VandeWoude
- Department of Microbiology, Immunology, and Pathology, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, Colorado, USA
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22
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Almeida FCR, Magalhães DM, Favaris AP, Rodríguez J, Azevedo KEX, Bento JMS, Alves DA. Side effects of a fungus-based biopesticide on stingless bee guarding behaviour. CHEMOSPHERE 2022; 287:132147. [PMID: 34492415 DOI: 10.1016/j.chemosphere.2021.132147] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/17/2021] [Revised: 08/31/2021] [Accepted: 09/01/2021] [Indexed: 06/13/2023]
Abstract
Pathogenic fungi have been used worldwide to control crop pests and are assumed to pose negligible threats to the survival of pollinators. Although eusocial stingless bees provide essential pollination services and might be exposed to these biopesticides in tropical agroecosystems, there is a substantial knowledge gap regarding the side effects of fungal pathogens on behavioural traits that are crucial for colony functioning, such as guarding behaviour. Here, we evaluated the effect of Beauveria bassiana on the sophisticated kin recognition system of Tetragonisca angustula, a bee with morphologically specialized entrance guards. By combining behavioural assays and chemical analyses, we show that guards detect pathogen-exposed nestmates, preventing them from accessing nests. Furthermore, cuticular profiles of pathogen-exposed foragers contained significantly lower amounts of linear alkanes than the unexposed ones. Such chemical cues associated with fungal conidia may potentially trigger aggression towards pathogen-exposed bees, preventing pathogen spread into and among colonies. This is the first demonstration that this highly abundant native bee seems to respond in a much more adaptive way to a potentially infectious threat, outweighing the costs of losing foraging workforce when reducing the chances of fungal pathogen outbreaks within their colonies, than honeybees do.
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Affiliation(s)
- Felipe Chagas Rocha Almeida
- Laboratory of Chemical Ecology and Insect Behaviour, Department of Entomology and Acarology, Luiz de Queiroz College of Agriculture, University of São Paulo, Piracicaba, Brazil
| | - Diego Martins Magalhães
- Laboratory of Chemical Ecology and Insect Behaviour, Department of Entomology and Acarology, Luiz de Queiroz College of Agriculture, University of São Paulo, Piracicaba, Brazil
| | - Arodí Prado Favaris
- Laboratory of Chemical Ecology and Insect Behaviour, Department of Entomology and Acarology, Luiz de Queiroz College of Agriculture, University of São Paulo, Piracicaba, Brazil
| | - Jonathan Rodríguez
- Laboratory of Pathology and Microbial Control, Department of Entomology and Acarology, Luiz de Queiroz College of Agriculture, University of São Paulo, Piracicaba, Brazil
| | - Kamila Emmanuella Xavier Azevedo
- Laboratory of Chemical Ecology and Insect Behaviour, Department of Entomology and Acarology, Luiz de Queiroz College of Agriculture, University of São Paulo, Piracicaba, Brazil
| | - José Maurício Simões Bento
- Laboratory of Chemical Ecology and Insect Behaviour, Department of Entomology and Acarology, Luiz de Queiroz College of Agriculture, University of São Paulo, Piracicaba, Brazil
| | - Denise Araujo Alves
- Laboratory of Chemical Ecology and Insect Behaviour, Department of Entomology and Acarology, Luiz de Queiroz College of Agriculture, University of São Paulo, Piracicaba, Brazil.
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23
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Lemanski N, Silk M, Fefferman N, Udiani O. How territoriality reduces disease transmission among social insect colonies. Behav Ecol Sociobiol 2021; 75:164. [PMID: 34866761 PMCID: PMC8630993 DOI: 10.1007/s00265-021-03095-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/09/2021] [Revised: 10/03/2021] [Accepted: 10/11/2021] [Indexed: 12/22/2022]
Abstract
Abstract
Social behavior can have a major impact on the dynamics of infectious disease outbreaks. For animals that live in dense social groups, such as the eusocial insects, pathogens pose an especially large risk because frequent contacts among individuals can allow rapid spread within colonies. While there has been a large body of work examining adaptations to mitigate the spread of infectious disease within social insect colonies, there has been less work on strategies to prevent the introduction of pathogens into colonies in the first place. We develop an agent-based model to examine the effect of territorial behavior on the transmission of infectious diseases between social insect colonies. We find that by preventing the introduction of infected foreign workers into a colony, territoriality can flatten the curve of an epidemic, delaying the introduction of an infectious disease and reducing its maximum prevalence, but only for diseases with moderate to low transmissibility. Our results have implications for understanding how pathogen risk influences the evolution of territorial behavior in social insects and other highly social animals. Significance statement Infectious disease outbreaks can impose a large fitness cost to animals that live in social groups. The frequency and pattern of contacts both within and among groups can have a large impact on the speed and extent of an epidemic. Using an individual-based model, we examined how the exclusion of foreign workers from a territory around the nest influences disease transmission between social insect colonies. We find that territoriality can protect colonies from outbreaks of low to moderately contagious pathogens by delaying the spillover from other colonies and reducing the maximum number of workers who are infected. These results suggest that the relative threat posed by infectious diseases may have played an important role in shaping the diversity of territorial behaviors seen in different social insect species. Supplementary Information The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s00265-021-03095-0.
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Affiliation(s)
- Natalie Lemanski
- Department of Ecology, Evolution, & Natural Resources, Rutgers University, New Brunswick, NJ USA
| | - Matthew Silk
- Department of Ecology & Evolutionary Biology, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN USA
| | - Nina Fefferman
- Department of Ecology & Evolutionary Biology, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN USA
| | - Oyita Udiani
- Department of Mathematics and Applied Mathematics, Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, VA USA
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24
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Zhang J, Wang F, Yuan B, Yang L, Yang Y, Fang Q, Kuhn JH, Song Q, Ye G. A novel cripavirus of an ectoparasitoid wasp increases pupal duration and fecundity of the wasp's Drosophila melanogaster host. THE ISME JOURNAL 2021; 15:3239-3257. [PMID: 34007060 PMCID: PMC8528920 DOI: 10.1038/s41396-021-01005-w] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/14/2020] [Revised: 04/21/2021] [Accepted: 04/30/2021] [Indexed: 02/03/2023]
Abstract
We identified a 9332-nucleotide-long novel picornaviral genome sequence in the transcriptome of an agriculturally important parasitoid wasp (Pachycrepoideus vindemmiae (Rondani, 1875)). The genome of the novel virus, Rondani's wasp virus 1 (RoWV-1), contains two long open reading frames encoding a nonstructural and a structural protein, respectively, and is 3'-polyadenylated. Phylogenetic analyses firmly place RoWV-1 into the dicistrovirid genus Cripavirus. We detected RoWV-1 in various tissues and life stages of the parasitoid wasp, with the highest virus load measured in the larval digestive tract. We demonstrate that RoWV-1 is transmitted horizontally from infected to uninfected wasps but not vertically to wasp offspring. Comparison of several important biological parameters between the infected and uninfected wasps indicates that RoWV-1 does not have obvious detrimental effects on wasps. We further demonstrate that RoWV-1 also infects Drosophila melanogaster (Meigen, 1830), the hosts of the pupal ectoparasitoid wasps, and thereby increases its pupal developmental duration and fecundity, but decreases the eclosion rate. Together, these results suggest that RoWV-1 may have a potential benefit to the wasp by increasing not only the number of potential wasp hosts but also the developmental time of the hosts to ensure proper development of wasp offspring.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jiao Zhang
- State Key Laboratory of Rice Biology & Ministry of Agriculture Key Lab of Molecular Biology of Crop Pathogens and Insects, Institute of Insect Sciences, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province, China
| | - Fei Wang
- State Key Laboratory of Rice Biology & Ministry of Agriculture Key Lab of Molecular Biology of Crop Pathogens and Insects, Institute of Insect Sciences, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province, China
| | - Bo Yuan
- State Key Laboratory of Rice Biology & Ministry of Agriculture Key Lab of Molecular Biology of Crop Pathogens and Insects, Institute of Insect Sciences, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province, China
| | - Lei Yang
- State Key Laboratory of Rice Biology & Ministry of Agriculture Key Lab of Molecular Biology of Crop Pathogens and Insects, Institute of Insect Sciences, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province, China
| | - Yi Yang
- State Key Laboratory of Rice Biology & Ministry of Agriculture Key Lab of Molecular Biology of Crop Pathogens and Insects, Institute of Insect Sciences, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province, China
| | - Qi Fang
- State Key Laboratory of Rice Biology & Ministry of Agriculture Key Lab of Molecular Biology of Crop Pathogens and Insects, Institute of Insect Sciences, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province, China
| | - Jens H Kuhn
- Integrated Research Facility at Fort Detrick, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, National Institutes of Health, Fort Detrick, Frederick, MD, USA
| | - Qisheng Song
- Division of Plant Sciences, College of Agriculture, Food and Natural Resources, University of Missouri, Columbia, MO, USA.
| | - Gongyin Ye
- State Key Laboratory of Rice Biology & Ministry of Agriculture Key Lab of Molecular Biology of Crop Pathogens and Insects, Institute of Insect Sciences, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province, China.
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25
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Pusceddu M, Cini A, Alberti S, Salaris E, Theodorou P, Floris I, Satta A. Honey bees increase social distancing when facing the ectoparasite Varroa destructor. SCIENCE ADVANCES 2021; 7:eabj1398. [PMID: 34714677 PMCID: PMC8555907 DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.abj1398] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/10/2023]
Abstract
Social distancing in response to infectious diseases is a strategy exhibited by human and nonhuman animals to counteract the spread of pathogens and/or parasites. Honey bee (Apis mellifera) colonies are ideal models to study this behavior because of the compartmentalized structure of these societies, evolved under exposure to parasite pressure and the need to ensure efficient functioning. Here, by using a combination of spatial and behavioral approaches, we investigated whether the presence of the ectoparasite mite Varroa destructor induces changes in the social organization of A. mellifera colonies that could reduce the spread of the parasite. Our results demonstrated that honey bees react to the intrusion of V. destructor by modifying space use and social interactions to increase the social distancing between young (nurses) and old (foragers) cohorts of bees. These findings strongly suggest a behavioral strategy not previously reported in honey bees to limit the intracolony parasite transmission.
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Affiliation(s)
- Michelina Pusceddu
- Department of Agricultural Sciences, University of Sassari, viale Italia 39A, 07100 Sassari, Italy
- Corresponding author. (M.P.); (A.S.)
| | - Alessandro Cini
- Centre for Biodiversity and Environment Research, University College London, Gower Street, London WC1E 6BT, UK
| | - Simona Alberti
- Department of Life Sciences and Systems Biology, University of Turin, via Accademia Albertina 13, 10123 Turin, Italy
| | - Emanuele Salaris
- Department of Agricultural Sciences, University of Sassari, viale Italia 39A, 07100 Sassari, Italy
| | - Panagiotis Theodorou
- General Zoology, Institute for Biology, Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg, Hoher Weg 8, 06120 Halle (Saale), Germany
| | - Ignazio Floris
- Department of Agricultural Sciences, University of Sassari, viale Italia 39A, 07100 Sassari, Italy
| | - Alberto Satta
- Department of Agricultural Sciences, University of Sassari, viale Italia 39A, 07100 Sassari, Italy
- Corresponding author. (M.P.); (A.S.)
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26
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Litsey EM, Chung S, Fine JD. The Behavioral Toxicity of Insect Growth Disruptors on Apis mellifera Queen Care. Front Ecol Evol 2021. [DOI: 10.3389/fevo.2021.729208] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
As social insects, honey bees (Apis mellifera) rely on the coordinated performance of various behaviors to ensure that the needs of the colony are met. One of the most critical of these behaviors is the feeding and care of egg laying honey bee queens by non-fecund female worker attendants. These behaviors are crucial to honey bee reproduction and are known to be elicited by the queen’s pheromone blend. The degree to which workers respond to this blend can vary depending on their physiological status, but little is known regarding the impacts of developmental exposure to agrochemicals on this behavior. This work investigated how exposing workers during larval development to chronic sublethal doses of insect growth disruptors affected their development time, weight, longevity, and queen pheromone responsiveness as adult worker honey bees. Exposure to the juvenile hormone analog pyriproxyfen consistently shortened the duration of pupation, and pyriproxyfen and diflubenzuron inconsistently reduced the survivorship of adult bees. Finally, pyriproxyfen and methoxyfenozide treated bees were found to be less responsive to queen pheromone relative to other treatment groups. Here, we describe these results and discuss their possible physiological underpinnings as well as their potential impacts on honey bee reproduction and colony performance.
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27
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Alciatore G, Ugelvig LV, Frank E, Bidaux J, Gal A, Schmitt T, Kronauer DJC, Ulrich Y. Immune challenges increase network centrality in a queenless ant. Proc Biol Sci 2021; 288:20211456. [PMID: 34493081 PMCID: PMC8424377 DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2021.1456] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/21/2021] [Accepted: 08/13/2021] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Social animals display a wide range of behavioural defences against infectious diseases, some of which increase social contacts with infectious individuals (e.g. mutual grooming), while others decrease them (e.g. social exclusion). These defences often rely on the detection of infectious individuals, but this can be achieved in several ways that are difficult to differentiate. Here, we combine non-pathogenic immune challenges with automated tracking in colonies of the clonal raider ant to ask whether ants can detect the immune status of their social partners and to quantify their behavioural responses to this perceived infection risk. We first show that a key behavioural response elicited by live pathogens (allogrooming) can be qualitatively recapitulated by immune challenges alone. Automated scoring of interactions between all colony members reveals that this behavioural response increases the network centrality of immune-challenged individuals through a general increase in physical contacts. These results show that ants can detect the immune status of their nest-mates and respond with a general 'caring' strategy, rather than avoidance, towards social partners that are perceived to be infectious. Finally, we find no evidence that changes in cuticular hydrocarbon profiles drive these behavioural effects.
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Affiliation(s)
- Giacomo Alciatore
- Institute of Integrative Biology, ETHZ Zürich, 8092 Zürich, Switzerland
- Department of Ecology and Evolution, University of Lausanne, 1015 Lausanne, Switzerland
| | - Line V. Ugelvig
- Laboratory of Social Evolution and Behavior, The Rockefeller University, New York, NY 10065, USA
- Centre for Social Evolution, University of Copenhagen, 2100 Copenhagen N, Denmark
| | - Erik Frank
- Department of Ecology and Evolution, University of Lausanne, 1015 Lausanne, Switzerland
- Department of Animal Ecology and Tropical Biology, University of Würzburg, Biocentre, 97074 Würzburg, Germany
| | - Jérémie Bidaux
- Department of Ecology and Evolution, University of Lausanne, 1015 Lausanne, Switzerland
| | - Asaf Gal
- Laboratory of Social Evolution and Behavior, The Rockefeller University, New York, NY 10065, USA
| | - Thomas Schmitt
- Department of Animal Ecology and Tropical Biology, University of Würzburg, Biocentre, 97074 Würzburg, Germany
| | - Daniel J. C. Kronauer
- Laboratory of Social Evolution and Behavior, The Rockefeller University, New York, NY 10065, USA
| | - Yuko Ulrich
- Department of Ecology and Evolution, University of Lausanne, 1015 Lausanne, Switzerland
- Max Planck Institute for Chemical Ecology, Hans-Knöll-Straße 8, 07745 Jena, Germany
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28
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Betti M, Shaw K. A Multi-Scale Model of Disease Transfer in Honey Bee Colonies. INSECTS 2021; 12:700. [PMID: 34442266 PMCID: PMC8396591 DOI: 10.3390/insects12080700] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/18/2021] [Revised: 07/28/2021] [Accepted: 08/01/2021] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
Abstract
Inter-colony disease transfer poses a serious hurdle to successfully managing healthy honeybee colonies. In this study, we build a multi-scale model of two interacting honey bee colonies. The model considers the effects of forager and drone drift, guarding behaviour, and resource robbing of dying colonies on the spread of disease between colonies. Our results show that when drifting is high, disease can spread rapidly between colonies, that guarding behaviour needs to be particularly efficient to be effective, and that for dense apiaries drifting is of greater concern than robbing. We show that while disease can put an individual colony at greater risk, drifting can help less the burden of disease in a colony. We posit some evolutionary questions that come from this study that can be addressed with this model.
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Affiliation(s)
- Matthew Betti
- Mount Allison University, Sackville, NB E4L 1E2, Canada
| | - Karalyne Shaw
- Saint Mary’s University, Halifax, NS B3H 3C3, Canada;
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29
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Transcriptome-level assessment of the impact of deformed wing virus on honey bee larvae. Sci Rep 2021; 11:15028. [PMID: 34294840 PMCID: PMC8298419 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-021-94641-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/21/2020] [Accepted: 07/09/2021] [Indexed: 12/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Deformed wing virus (DWV) prevalence is high in honey bee (Apis mellifera) populations. The virus infects honey bees through vertical and horizontal transmission, leading to behavioural changes, wing deformity, and early mortality. To better understand the impacts of viral infection in the larval stage of honey bees, artificially reared honey bee larvae were infected with DWV (1.55 × 1010 copies/per larva). No significant mortality occurred in infected honey bee larvae, while the survival rates decreased significantly at the pupal stage. Examination of DWV replication revealed that viral replication began at 2 days post inoculation (d.p.i.), increased dramatically to 4 d.p.i., and then continuously increased in the pupal stage. To better understand the impact of DWV on the larval stage, DWV-infected and control groups were subjected to transcriptomic analysis at 4 d.p.i. Two hundred fifty-five differentially expressed genes (DEGs) (fold change ≥ 2 or ≤ -2) were identified. Of these DEGs, 168 genes were downregulated, and 87 genes were upregulated. Gene Ontology (GO) analysis showed that 141 DEGs (55.3%) were categorized into molecular functions, cellular components and biological processes. One hundred eleven genes (38 upregulated and 73 downregulated) were annotated by KO (KEGG Orthology) pathway mapping and involved metabolic pathways, biosynthesis of secondary metabolites and glycine, serine and threonine metabolism pathways. Validation of DEGs was performed, and the related gene expression levels showed a similar tendency to the DEG predictions at 4 d.p.i.; cell wall integrity and stress response component 1 (wsc1), cuticular protein and myo-inositol 2-dehydrogenase (iolG) were significantly upregulated, and small conductance calcium-activated potassium channel protein (SK) was significantly downregulated at 4 d.p.i. Related gene expression levels at different d.p.i. revealed that these DEGs were significantly regulated from the larval stage to the pupal stage, indicating the potential impacts of gene expression levels from the larval to the pupal stages. Taken together, DWV infection in the honey bee larval stage potentially influences the gene expression levels from larvae to pupae and reduces the survival rate of the pupal stage. This information emphasizes the consequences of DWV prevalence in honey bee larvae for apiculture.
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30
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Developmental environment shapes honeybee worker response to virus infection. Sci Rep 2021; 11:13961. [PMID: 34234217 PMCID: PMC8263599 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-021-93199-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/23/2021] [Accepted: 06/18/2021] [Indexed: 11/08/2022] Open
Abstract
The consequences of early-life experiences are far reaching. In particular, the social and nutritional environments that developing animals experience can shape their adult phenotypes. In honeybees, larval nutrition determines the eventual social roles of adults as reproductive queens or sterile workers. However, little is known about the effects of developmental nutrition on important adult worker phenotypes such as disease resilience. In this study, we manipulated worker developmental nutrition in two distinct ways under semi-natural field conditions. In the first experiment, we restricted access to nutrition via social isolation by temporarily preventing alloparental care. In the second experiment, we altered the diet quality experienced by the entire colony, leading to adult bees that had developed entirely in a nutritionally restricted environment. When bees from these two experiments reached the adult stage, we challenged them with a common bee virus, Israeli acute paralysis virus (IAPV) and compared mortality, body condition, and the expression of immune genes across diet and viral inoculation treatments. Our findings show that both forms of early life nutritional stress, whether induced by lack of alloparental care or diet quality restriction, significantly reduced bees' resilience to virus infection and affected the expression of several key genes related to immune function. These results extend our understanding of how early life nutritional environment can affect phenotypes relevant to health and highlight the importance of considering how nutritional stress can be profound even when filtered through a social group. These results also provide important insights into how nutritional stress can affect honeybee health on a longer time scale and its potential to interact with other forms of stress (i.e. disease).
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31
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Rittschof CC, Nieh JC. Honey robbing: could human changes to the environment transform a rare foraging tactic into a maladaptive behavior? CURRENT OPINION IN INSECT SCIENCE 2021; 45:84-90. [PMID: 33601060 DOI: 10.1016/j.cois.2021.02.005] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/17/2020] [Revised: 01/22/2021] [Accepted: 02/05/2021] [Indexed: 06/12/2023]
Abstract
Human environmental modifications have outpaced honey bees' ability to evolve adaptive regulation of foraging tactics, possibly including a tactic associated with extreme food shortage, honey robbing. Honey robbing is a high risk, high reward, and understudied honey bee tactic whereby workers attack and often kill neighboring colonies to steal honey. Humans have exacerbated the conditions that provoke such robbing and its consequences. We describe robbing as an individual-level and colony-level behavioral syndrome, implicating worker bees specialized for foraging, food processing, and defense. We discuss how colony signaling mechanisms could regulate this syndrome and then explore the ecological underpinnings of robbing-highlighting its unusual prevalence in the commonly managed Apis mellifera and outlining the conditions that provoke robbing. We advocate for studies that identify the cues that modulate this robbing syndrome. Additionally, studies that apply behavioral ecology modeling approaches to generate testable predictions about robbing could clarify basic bee biology and have practical implications for colony management.
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Affiliation(s)
- Clare C Rittschof
- University of Kentucky, Department of Entomology, S-225 Agriculture Science Center North Lexington, KY, 40546, United States.
| | - James C Nieh
- University of California, San Diego, Division of Biological Sciences, 9500 Gilman Drive, MC 0116, La Jolla, CA 92093-0116, United States
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32
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Mayack C, Broadrup RL, Schick SJ, Eppley EJ, Khan Z, Macherone A. Increased alarm pheromone component is associated with Nosema ceranae infected honeybee colonies. ROYAL SOCIETY OPEN SCIENCE 2021; 8:210194. [PMID: 34007462 PMCID: PMC8079991 DOI: 10.1098/rsos.210194&domain=pdf&date_stamp=2021-04-28] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/03/2021] [Accepted: 04/09/2021] [Indexed: 06/15/2023]
Abstract
Use of chemicals, such as alarm pheromones, for rapid communication with conspecifics is widespread throughout evolutionary history. Such chemicals are particularly important for social insects, such as the honeybee (Apis mellifera), because they are used for collective decision-making, coordinating activities and self-organization of the group. What is less understood is how these pheromones change due to an infection and what the implications might be for social communication. We used semiquantitative polymerase chain reaction (sqPCR) to screen for a common microsporidian gut parasite, Nosema ceranae, for 30 hives, across 10 different locations. We then used high-resolution accurate mass gas chromatography-quadrupole time of flight mass spectrometry to generate an exposome profile for each hive. Of the 2352 chemical features identified, chemicals associated with infection were filtered for cosanes or cosenes. A significant association was found between N. ceranae and the presence of (Z)-11-eicosen-1-ol, a known alarm pheromone component. The increase in (Z)-11-eicosen-1-ol could be the recognition mechanism for healthy individuals to care for, kill, or quarantine infected nestmates. Nosema ceranae has contributed to the global decline in bee health. Therefore, altered alarm pheromones might play a role in disrupting social harmony and have potential impacts on colony health.
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Affiliation(s)
- Christopher Mayack
- Molecular Biology, Genetics and Bioengineering Program, Faculty of Engineering and Natural Sciences, Sabanci University, Tuzla, Istanbul, Turkey
- Biology Department, Swarthmore College, 500 College Avenue, Swarthmore, PA, USA
| | - Robert L. Broadrup
- Department of Chemistry, Haverford College, Haverford, PA, USA
- Department of Chemistry, Lafayette College, Easton, PA 18042, USA
| | - Sassicaia J. Schick
- Biology Department, Swarthmore College, 500 College Avenue, Swarthmore, PA, USA
| | - Elizabeth J. Eppley
- Biology Department, Swarthmore College, 500 College Avenue, Swarthmore, PA, USA
| | - Zaeema Khan
- Molecular Biology, Genetics and Bioengineering Program, Faculty of Engineering and Natural Sciences, Sabanci University, Tuzla, Istanbul, Turkey
| | - Anthony Macherone
- Life Science and Chemical Analysis Group, Agilent Technologies, Santa Clara, CA 95051, USA
- Department of Biological Chemistry, The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, USA
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33
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Mayack C, Broadrup RL, Schick SJ, Eppley EJ, Khan Z, Macherone A. Increased alarm pheromone component is associated with Nosema ceranae infected honeybee colonies. ROYAL SOCIETY OPEN SCIENCE 2021; 8:210194. [PMID: 34007462 PMCID: PMC8079991 DOI: 10.1098/rsos.210194] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/03/2021] [Accepted: 04/09/2021] [Indexed: 05/14/2023]
Abstract
Use of chemicals, such as alarm pheromones, for rapid communication with conspecifics is widespread throughout evolutionary history. Such chemicals are particularly important for social insects, such as the honeybee (Apis mellifera), because they are used for collective decision-making, coordinating activities and self-organization of the group. What is less understood is how these pheromones change due to an infection and what the implications might be for social communication. We used semiquantitative polymerase chain reaction (sqPCR) to screen for a common microsporidian gut parasite, Nosema ceranae, for 30 hives, across 10 different locations. We then used high-resolution accurate mass gas chromatography-quadrupole time of flight mass spectrometry to generate an exposome profile for each hive. Of the 2352 chemical features identified, chemicals associated with infection were filtered for cosanes or cosenes. A significant association was found between N. ceranae and the presence of (Z)-11-eicosen-1-ol, a known alarm pheromone component. The increase in (Z)-11-eicosen-1-ol could be the recognition mechanism for healthy individuals to care for, kill, or quarantine infected nestmates. Nosema ceranae has contributed to the global decline in bee health. Therefore, altered alarm pheromones might play a role in disrupting social harmony and have potential impacts on colony health.
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Affiliation(s)
- Christopher Mayack
- Molecular Biology, Genetics and Bioengineering Program, Faculty of Engineering and Natural Sciences, Sabanci University, Tuzla, Istanbul, Turkey
- Biology Department, Swarthmore College, 500 College Avenue, Swarthmore, PA, USA
| | - Robert L. Broadrup
- Department of Chemistry, Haverford College, Haverford, PA, USA
- Department of Chemistry, Lafayette College, Easton, PA 18042, USA
| | - Sassicaia J. Schick
- Biology Department, Swarthmore College, 500 College Avenue, Swarthmore, PA, USA
| | - Elizabeth J. Eppley
- Biology Department, Swarthmore College, 500 College Avenue, Swarthmore, PA, USA
| | - Zaeema Khan
- Molecular Biology, Genetics and Bioengineering Program, Faculty of Engineering and Natural Sciences, Sabanci University, Tuzla, Istanbul, Turkey
| | - Anthony Macherone
- Life Science and Chemical Analysis Group, Agilent Technologies, Santa Clara, CA 95051, USA
- Department of Biological Chemistry, The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, USA
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34
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Sclocco A, Ong SJY, Pyay Aung SY, Teseo S. Integrating real-time data analysis into automatic tracking of social insects. ROYAL SOCIETY OPEN SCIENCE 2021; 8:202033. [PMID: 33959356 PMCID: PMC8074946 DOI: 10.1098/rsos.202033] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/09/2020] [Accepted: 03/03/2021] [Indexed: 06/12/2023]
Abstract
Automatic video tracking has become a standard tool for investigating the social behaviour of insects. The recent integration of computer vision in tracking technologies will probably lead to fully automated behavioural pattern classification within the next few years. However, many current systems rely on offline data analysis and use computationally expensive techniques to track pre-recorded videos. To address this gap, we developed BACH (Behaviour Analysis maCHine), a software that performs video tracking of insect groups in real time. BACH uses object recognition via convolutional neural networks and identifies individually tagged insects via an existing matrix code recognition algorithm. We compared the tracking performances of BACH and a human observer (HO) across a series of short videos of ants moving in a two-dimensional arena. We found that BACH detected ant shapes only slightly worse than the HO. However, its matrix code-mediated identification of individual ants only attained human-comparable levels when ants moved relatively slowly, and fell when ants walked relatively fast. This happened because BACH had a relatively low efficiency in detecting matrix codes in blurry images of ants walking at high speeds. BACH needs to undergo hardware and software adjustments to overcome its present limits. Nevertheless, our study emphasizes the possibility of, and the need for, further integrating real-time data analysis into the study of animal behaviour. This will accelerate data generation, visualization and sharing, opening possibilities for conducting fully remote collaborative experiments.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alessio Sclocco
- School of Biological Sciences, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore
- Netherlands eScience Center, Amsterdam, North Holland, The Netherlands
| | | | - Sai Yan Pyay Aung
- School of Biological Sciences, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore
| | - Serafino Teseo
- School of Biological Sciences, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore
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Kulhanek K, Garavito A, vanEngelsdorp D. Accelerated Varroa destructor population growth in honey bee (Apis mellifera) colonies is associated with visitation from non-natal bees. Sci Rep 2021; 11:7092. [PMID: 33782493 PMCID: PMC8007729 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-021-86558-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/24/2020] [Accepted: 03/16/2021] [Indexed: 11/09/2022] Open
Abstract
A leading cause of managed honey bee colony mortality in the US, Varroa destructor populations typically exceed damaging levels in the fall. One explanation for rapid population increases is migration of mite carrying bees between colonies. Here, the degree to which bees from high and low mite donor colonies move between apiaries, and the effect visitation has on Varroa populations was monitored. More bees from low mite colonies (n = 37) were detected in receiver apiaries than bees from high mite colonies (n = 10, p < 0.001). Receiver colony Varroa population growth was associated with visitation by non-natal bees (p = 0.03), but not high mite bees alone (p = 0.19). Finally, colonies lacking robbing screens experienced faster Varroa population growth than screened neighbors (p = 0.01). Results indicate visiting non-natal bees may vector mites to receiver colonies. These results do not support the current two leading theories regarding mite immigration – the “mite bomb” theory (bees from high mite colonies emigrating to collapsing colonies), or the “robbing” theory (natal robbing bees return home with mites from collapsing colonies). Potential host-parasite effects to bee behavior, as well as important management implications both for Varroa treatment regimens and breeding Varroa resistant bees are discussed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kelly Kulhanek
- Department of Entomology, Washington State University, Pullman, WA, USA.
| | - Andrew Garavito
- Department of Entomology, University of Maryland, College Park, MD, USA
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Stockmaier S, Stroeymeyt N, Shattuck EC, Hawley DM, Meyers LA, Bolnick DI. Infectious diseases and social distancing in nature. Science 2021; 371:371/6533/eabc8881. [PMID: 33674468 DOI: 10.1126/science.abc8881] [Citation(s) in RCA: 71] [Impact Index Per Article: 23.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/16/2022]
Abstract
Spread of contagious pathogens critically depends on the number and types of contacts between infectious and susceptible hosts. Changes in social behavior by susceptible, exposed, or sick individuals thus have far-reaching downstream consequences for infectious disease spread. Although "social distancing" is now an all too familiar strategy for managing COVID-19, nonhuman animals also exhibit pathogen-induced changes in social interactions. Here, we synthesize the effects of infectious pathogens on social interactions in animals (including humans), review what is known about underlying mechanisms, and consider implications for evolution and epidemiology.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sebastian Stockmaier
- University of Texas at Austin, Department of Integrative Biology, Austin, TX, USA.
| | | | - Eric C Shattuck
- Institute for Health Disparities Research, University of Texas at San Antonio, San Antonio, TX, USA
| | - Dana M Hawley
- Virginia Tech, Department of Biological Sciences, Blacksburg, VA, USA
| | - Lauren Ancel Meyers
- University of Texas at Austin, Department of Integrative Biology, Austin, TX, USA
| | - Daniel I Bolnick
- University of Connecticut, Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Storrs, CT, USA
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37
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Bozek K, Hebert L, Portugal Y, Mikheyev AS, Stephens GJ. Markerless tracking of an entire honey bee colony. Nat Commun 2021; 12:1733. [PMID: 33741938 PMCID: PMC7979864 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-021-21769-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/22/2020] [Accepted: 02/05/2021] [Indexed: 01/31/2023] Open
Abstract
From cells in tissue, to bird flocks, to human crowds, living systems display a stunning variety of collective behaviors. Yet quantifying such phenomena first requires tracking a significant fraction of the group members in natural conditions, a substantial and ongoing challenge. We present a comprehensive, computational method for tracking an entire colony of the honey bee Apis mellifera using high-resolution video on a natural honeycomb background. We adapt a convolutional neural network (CNN) segmentation architecture to automatically identify bee and brood cell positions, body orientations and within-cell states. We achieve high accuracy (~10% body width error in position, ~10° error in orientation, and true positive rate > 90%) and demonstrate months-long monitoring of sociometric colony fluctuations. These fluctuations include ~24 h cycles in the counted detections, negative correlation between bee and brood, and nightly enhancement of bees inside comb cells. We combine detected positions with visual features of organism-centered images to track individuals over time and through challenging occluding events, recovering ~79% of bee trajectories from five observation hives over 5 min timespans. The trajectories reveal important individual behaviors, including waggle dances and crawling inside comb cells. Our results provide opportunities for the quantitative study of collective bee behavior and for advancing tracking techniques of crowded systems.
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Affiliation(s)
- Katarzyna Bozek
- Biological Physics Theory Unit, OIST Graduate University, Okinawa, Japan.
- University of Cologne, Center for Molecular Medicine Cologne (CMMC), Faculty of Medicine and University Hospital Cologne, Cologne, Germany.
| | - Laetitia Hebert
- Biological Physics Theory Unit, OIST Graduate University, Okinawa, Japan
| | - Yoann Portugal
- Biological Physics Theory Unit, OIST Graduate University, Okinawa, Japan
- Ecology and Evolution Unit, OIST Graduate University, Okinawa, Japan
| | - Alexander S Mikheyev
- Ecology and Evolution Unit, OIST Graduate University, Okinawa, Japan
- Research School of Biology, Australian National University, Canberra, Australia
| | - Greg J Stephens
- Biological Physics Theory Unit, OIST Graduate University, Okinawa, Japan
- Department of Physics and Astronomy, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
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Hawley DM, Gibson AK, Townsend AK, Craft ME, Stephenson JF. Bidirectional interactions between host social behaviour and parasites arise through ecological and evolutionary processes. Parasitology 2021; 148:274-288. [PMID: 33092680 PMCID: PMC11010184 DOI: 10.1017/s0031182020002048] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/30/2020] [Revised: 10/14/2020] [Accepted: 10/15/2020] [Indexed: 02/07/2023]
Abstract
An animal's social behaviour both influences and changes in response to its parasites. Here we consider these bidirectional links between host social behaviours and parasite infection, both those that occur from ecological vs evolutionary processes. First, we review how social behaviours of individuals and groups influence ecological patterns of parasite transmission. We then discuss how parasite infection, in turn, can alter host social interactions by changing the behaviour of both infected and uninfected individuals. Together, these ecological feedbacks between social behaviour and parasite infection can result in important epidemiological consequences. Next, we consider the ways in which host social behaviours evolve in response to parasites, highlighting constraints that arise from the need for hosts to maintain benefits of sociality while minimizing fitness costs of parasites. Finally, we consider how host social behaviours shape the population genetic structure of parasites and the evolution of key parasite traits, such as virulence. Overall, these bidirectional relationships between host social behaviours and parasites are an important yet often underappreciated component of population-level disease dynamics and host-parasite coevolution.
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Affiliation(s)
- Dana M. Hawley
- Department of Biological Sciences, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, VA24061, USA
| | - Amanda K. Gibson
- Department of Biology, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA22903, USA
| | | | - Meggan E. Craft
- Department of Veterinary Population Medicine and Department of Ecology, Evolution and Behavior, University of Minnesota, St Paul, MN55108, USA
| | - Jessica F. Stephenson
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA15260, USA
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Laomettachit T, Liangruksa M, Termsaithong T, Tangthanawatsakul A, Duangphakdee O. A model of infection in honeybee colonies with social immunity. PLoS One 2021; 16:e0247294. [PMID: 33617598 PMCID: PMC7899363 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0247294] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/17/2020] [Accepted: 02/04/2021] [Indexed: 01/04/2023] Open
Abstract
Honeybees (Apis mellifera) play a significant role in the pollination of various food crops and plants. In the past decades, honeybee management has been challenged with increased pathogen and environmental pressure associating with increased beekeeping costs, having a marked economic impact on the beekeeping industry. Pathogens have been identified as a contributing cause of colony losses. Evidence suggested a possible route of pathogen transmission among bees via oral-oral contacts through trophallaxis. Here we propose a model that describes the transmission of an infection within a colony when bee members engage in the trophallactic activity to distribute nectar. In addition, we examine two important features of social immunity, defined as collective disease defenses organized by honeybee society. First, our model considers the social segregation of worker bees. The segregation limits foragers, which are highly exposed to pathogens during foraging outside the nest, from interacting with bees residing in the inner parts of the nest. Second, our model includes a hygienic response, by which healthy nurse bees exterminate infected bees to mitigate horizontal transmission of the infection to other bee members. We propose that the social segregation forms the first line of defense in reducing the uptake of pathogens into the colony. If the first line of defense fails, the hygienic behavior provides a second mechanism in preventing disease spread. Our study identifies the rate of egg-laying as a critical factor in maintaining the colony's health against an infection. We propose that winter conditions which cease or reduce the egg-laying activity combined with an infection in early spring can compromise the social immunity defenses and potentially cause colony losses.
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Affiliation(s)
- Teeraphan Laomettachit
- Bioinformatics and Systems Biology Program, School of Bioresources and Technology, King Mongkut’s University of Technology Thonburi, Bangkok, Thailand
- Theoretical and Computational Physics (TCP) Group, Center of Excellence in Theoretical and Computational Science Center (TaCS-CoE), King Mongkut’s University of Technology Thonburi, Bangkok, Thailand
| | - Monrudee Liangruksa
- National Nanotechnology Center (NANOTEC), National Science and Technology Development Agency (NSTDA), Pathum Thani, Thailand
| | - Teerasit Termsaithong
- Theoretical and Computational Physics (TCP) Group, Center of Excellence in Theoretical and Computational Science Center (TaCS-CoE), King Mongkut’s University of Technology Thonburi, Bangkok, Thailand
- Learning Institute, King Mongkut’s University of Technology Thonburi, Bangkok, Thailand
| | - Anuwat Tangthanawatsakul
- Department of Mathematics, Faculty of Science, King Mongkut’s University of Technology Thonburi, Bangkok, Thailand
| | - Orawan Duangphakdee
- King Mongkut’s University of Technology Thonburi, Ratchaburi Campus, Ratchaburi, Thailand
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40
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Wild B, Dormagen DM, Zachariae A, Smith ML, Traynor KS, Brockmann D, Couzin ID, Landgraf T. Social networks predict the life and death of honey bees. Nat Commun 2021; 12:1110. [PMID: 33597518 PMCID: PMC7889932 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-021-21212-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 22] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/28/2020] [Accepted: 01/19/2021] [Indexed: 12/22/2022] Open
Abstract
In complex societies, individuals' roles are reflected by interactions with other conspecifics. Honey bees (Apis mellifera) generally change tasks as they age, but developmental trajectories of individuals can vary drastically due to physiological and environmental factors. We introduce a succinct descriptor of an individual's social network that can be obtained without interfering with the colony. This 'network age' accurately predicts task allocation, survival, activity patterns, and future behavior. We analyze developmental trajectories of multiple cohorts of individuals in a natural setting and identify distinct developmental pathways and critical life changes. Our findings suggest a high stability in task allocation on an individual level. We show that our method is versatile and can extract different properties from social networks, opening up a broad range of future studies. Our approach highlights the relationship of social interactions and individual traits, and provides a scalable technique for understanding how complex social systems function.
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Affiliation(s)
- Benjamin Wild
- Department of Mathematics and Computer Science, Freie Universität Berlin, Berlin, Germany.
| | - David M Dormagen
- Department of Mathematics and Computer Science, Freie Universität Berlin, Berlin, Germany
| | | | - Michael L Smith
- Department of Collective Behaviour, Max Planck Institute of Animal Behavior, Konstanz, Germany
- Centre for the Advanced Study of Collective Behaviour, University of Konstanz, Konstanz, Germany
- Department of Biology, University of Konstanz, Konstanz, Germany
| | - Kirsten S Traynor
- Department of Mathematics and Computer Science, Freie Universität Berlin, Berlin, Germany
- Global Biosocial Complexity Initiative, Arizona State University, Tempe, FL, USA
| | - Dirk Brockmann
- Robert Koch Institute, Berlin, Germany
- Institute for Theoretical Biology, Humboldt University Berlin, Berlin, Germany
| | - Iain D Couzin
- Department of Collective Behaviour, Max Planck Institute of Animal Behavior, Konstanz, Germany
- Centre for the Advanced Study of Collective Behaviour, University of Konstanz, Konstanz, Germany
- Department of Biology, University of Konstanz, Konstanz, Germany
| | - Tim Landgraf
- Department of Mathematics and Computer Science, Freie Universität Berlin, Berlin, Germany.
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41
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Bhatia S, Baral SS, Vega Melendez C, Amiri E, Rueppell O. Comparing Survival of Israeli Acute Paralysis Virus Infection among Stocks of U.S. Honey Bees. INSECTS 2021; 12:60. [PMID: 33445412 PMCID: PMC7827508 DOI: 10.3390/insects12010060] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/08/2020] [Revised: 01/05/2021] [Accepted: 01/08/2021] [Indexed: 12/21/2022]
Abstract
Among numerous viruses that infect honey bees (Apis mellifera), Israeli acute paralysis virus (IAPV) can be linked to severe honey bee health problems. Breeding for virus resistance may improve honey bee health. To evaluate the potential for this approach, we compared the survival of IAPV infection among stocks from the U.S. We complemented the survival analysis with a survey of existing viruses in these stocks and assessing constitutive and induced expression of immune genes. Worker offspring from selected queens in a common apiary were inoculated with IAPV by topical applications after emergence to assess subsequent survival. Differences among stocks were small compared to variation within stocks, indicating the potential for improving honey bee survival of virus infections in all stocks. A positive relation between worker survival and virus load among stocks further suggested that honey bees may be able to adapt to better cope with viruses, while our molecular studies indicate that toll-6 may be related to survival differences among virus-infected worker bees. Together, these findings highlight the importance of viruses in queen breeding operations and provide a promising starting point for the quest to improve honey bee health by selectively breeding stock to be better able to survive virus infections.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shilpi Bhatia
- Department of Biology, University of North Carolina Greensboro, 321 McIver Street, Greensboro, NC 27403, USA; (S.B.); (S.S.B.); (C.V.M.); (E.A.)
- Department of Applied Science & Technology, North Carolina Agricultural & Technical University, 1601 E Market Street, Greensboro, NC 27411, USA
| | - Saman S. Baral
- Department of Biology, University of North Carolina Greensboro, 321 McIver Street, Greensboro, NC 27403, USA; (S.B.); (S.S.B.); (C.V.M.); (E.A.)
| | - Carlos Vega Melendez
- Department of Biology, University of North Carolina Greensboro, 321 McIver Street, Greensboro, NC 27403, USA; (S.B.); (S.S.B.); (C.V.M.); (E.A.)
- US Dairy Forage Research Center, USDA-ARS, 1925 Linden Drive, Madison, WI 53706, USA
| | - Esmaeil Amiri
- Department of Biology, University of North Carolina Greensboro, 321 McIver Street, Greensboro, NC 27403, USA; (S.B.); (S.S.B.); (C.V.M.); (E.A.)
| | - Olav Rueppell
- Department of Biology, University of North Carolina Greensboro, 321 McIver Street, Greensboro, NC 27403, USA; (S.B.); (S.S.B.); (C.V.M.); (E.A.)
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB T6G 2E9, Canada
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42
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Jones BM, Rao VD, Gernat T, Jagla T, Cash-Ahmed AC, Rubin BER, Comi TJ, Bhogale S, Husain SS, Blatti C, Middendorf M, Sinha S, Chandrasekaran S, Robinson GE. Individual differences in honey bee behavior enabled by plasticity in brain gene regulatory networks. eLife 2020; 9:e62850. [PMID: 33350385 PMCID: PMC7755388 DOI: 10.7554/elife.62850] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/06/2020] [Accepted: 11/16/2020] [Indexed: 12/20/2022] Open
Abstract
Understanding the regulatory architecture of phenotypic variation is a fundamental goal in biology, but connections between gene regulatory network (GRN) activity and individual differences in behavior are poorly understood. We characterized the molecular basis of behavioral plasticity in queenless honey bee (Apis mellifera) colonies, where individuals engage in both reproductive and non-reproductive behaviors. Using high-throughput behavioral tracking, we discovered these colonies contain a continuum of phenotypes, with some individuals specialized for either egg-laying or foraging and 'generalists' that perform both. Brain gene expression and chromatin accessibility profiles were correlated with behavioral variation, with generalists intermediate in behavior and molecular profiles. Models of brain GRNs constructed for individuals revealed that transcription factor (TF) activity was highly predictive of behavior, and behavior-associated regulatory regions had more TF motifs. These results provide new insights into the important role played by brain GRN plasticity in the regulation of behavior, with implications for social evolution.
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Affiliation(s)
- Beryl M Jones
- Program in Ecology, Evolution, and Conservation Biology, University of Illinois at Urbana–ChampaignUrbanaUnited States
| | - Vikyath D Rao
- Carl R. Woese Institute for Genomic Biology, University of Illinois at Urbana–ChampaignUrbanaUnited States
- Department of Physics, University of Illinois at Urbana–ChampaignUrbanaUnited States
| | - Tim Gernat
- Carl R. Woese Institute for Genomic Biology, University of Illinois at Urbana–ChampaignUrbanaUnited States
- Swarm Intelligence and Complex Systems Group, Department of Computer Science, Leipzig UniversityLeipzigGermany
| | - Tobias Jagla
- Swarm Intelligence and Complex Systems Group, Department of Computer Science, Leipzig UniversityLeipzigGermany
| | - Amy C Cash-Ahmed
- Carl R. Woese Institute for Genomic Biology, University of Illinois at Urbana–ChampaignUrbanaUnited States
| | - Benjamin ER Rubin
- Lewis-Sigler Institute for Integrative Genomics, Princeton UniversityPrincetonUnited States
| | - Troy J Comi
- Lewis-Sigler Institute for Integrative Genomics, Princeton UniversityPrincetonUnited States
| | - Shounak Bhogale
- Center for Biophysics and Quantitative Biology, University of Illinois at Urbana–ChampaignUrbanaUnited States
| | - Syed S Husain
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, University of MichiganAnn ArborUnited States
| | - Charles Blatti
- Carl R. Woese Institute for Genomic Biology, University of Illinois at Urbana–ChampaignUrbanaUnited States
| | - Martin Middendorf
- Swarm Intelligence and Complex Systems Group, Department of Computer Science, Leipzig UniversityLeipzigGermany
| | - Saurabh Sinha
- Carl R. Woese Institute for Genomic Biology, University of Illinois at Urbana–ChampaignUrbanaUnited States
- Center for Biophysics and Quantitative Biology, University of Illinois at Urbana–ChampaignUrbanaUnited States
| | - Sriram Chandrasekaran
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, University of MichiganAnn ArborUnited States
- Center for Computational Medicine and Bioinformatics, University of MichiganAnn ArborUnited States
| | - Gene E Robinson
- Program in Ecology, Evolution, and Conservation Biology, University of Illinois at Urbana–ChampaignUrbanaUnited States
- Carl R. Woese Institute for Genomic Biology, University of Illinois at Urbana–ChampaignUrbanaUnited States
- Neuroscience Program, University of Illinois at Urbana–ChampaignUrbanaUnited States
- Department of Entomology, University of Illinois at Urbana–ChampaignUrbanaUnited States
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43
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OneHealth implications of infectious diseases of wild and managed bees. J Invertebr Pathol 2020; 186:107506. [PMID: 33249062 DOI: 10.1016/j.jip.2020.107506] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/17/2020] [Revised: 10/27/2020] [Accepted: 11/20/2020] [Indexed: 01/23/2023]
Abstract
The OneHealth approach aims to further our understanding of the drivers of human, animal and environmental health, and, ultimately, to improve them by combining approaches and knowledge from medicine, biology and fields beyond. Wild and managed bees are essential pollinators of crops and wild flowers. Their health thus directly impacts on human and environmental health. At the same time, these bee species represent highly amenable and relevant model organisms for a OneHealth approach that aims to study fundamental epidemiological questions. In this review, we focus on how infectious diseases of wild and managed bees can be used as a OneHealth model system, informing fundamental questions on ecological immunology and disease transmission, while addressing how this knowledge can be used to tackle the issues facing pollinator health.
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44
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Hsieh EM, Berenbaum MR, Dolezal AG. Ameliorative Effects of Phytochemical Ingestion on Viral Infection in Honey Bees. INSECTS 2020; 11:insects11100698. [PMID: 33066263 PMCID: PMC7602108 DOI: 10.3390/insects11100698] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/14/2020] [Revised: 09/25/2020] [Accepted: 10/06/2020] [Indexed: 01/08/2023]
Abstract
Simple Summary Virus infection is among the many stressors honey bees are experiencing in the modern agricultural landscape. Although some promising treatments are currently under development, no reliable cure currently exists. Here, we investigated the effects of various phytochemicals (plant-produced chemical compounds) on the survivorship of virus infected honey bees. Our results showed that, when consumed at natural concentrations like those found in flowers, caffeine is capable of significantly reducing the mortality of infected bees. It is important to note that caffeine did not clear the infected bees of all viruses and should, therefore, not be considered a virus cure. Rather, caffeine represents a potential antiviral therapeutic agent that should be studied further to improve understanding of virus-phytochemical interactions. Abstract Honey bee viruses are capable of causing a wide variety of devastating effects, but effective treatments have yet to be discovered. Phytochemicals represent a broad range of substances that honey bees frequently encounter and consume, many of which have been shown to improve honey bee health. However, their effect on bee viruses is largely unknown. Here, we tested the therapeutic effectiveness of carvacrol, thymol, p-coumaric acid, quercetin, and caffeine on viral infection by measuring their ability to improve survivorship in honey bees inoculated with Israeli acute paralysis virus (IAPV) using high-throughput cage bioassays. Among these candidates, caffeine was the only phytochemical capable of significantly improving survivorship, with initial screening showing that naturally occurring concentrations of caffeine (25 ppm) were sufficient to produce an ameliorative effect on IAPV infection. Consequently, we measured the scope of caffeine effectiveness in bees inoculated and uninoculated with IAPV by performing the same type of high-throughput bioassay across a wider range of caffeine concentrations. Our results indicate that caffeine may provide benefits that scale with concentration, though the exact mechanism by which caffeine ingestion improves survivorship remains uncertain. Caffeine therefore has the potential to act as an accessible and inexpensive method of treating viral infections, while also serving as a tool to further understanding of honey bee–virus interactions at a physiological and molecular level.
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45
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Du Toit A. The viruses and the bees. Nat Rev Microbiol 2020; 18:362-363. [DOI: 10.1038/s41579-020-0384-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/09/2022]
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46
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Harwood GP, Dolezal AG. Pesticide-Virus Interactions in Honey Bees: Challenges and Opportunities for Understanding Drivers of Bee Declines. Viruses 2020; 12:E566. [PMID: 32455815 PMCID: PMC7291294 DOI: 10.3390/v12050566] [Citation(s) in RCA: 21] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/29/2020] [Revised: 05/19/2020] [Accepted: 05/20/2020] [Indexed: 02/07/2023] Open
Abstract
Honey bees are key agricultural pollinators, but beekeepers continually suffer high annual colony losses owing to a number of environmental stressors, including inadequate nutrition, pressures from parasites and pathogens, and exposure to a wide variety of pesticides. In this review, we examine how two such stressors, pesticides and viruses, may interact in additive or synergistic ways to affect honey bee health. Despite what appears to be a straightforward comparison, there is a dearth of studies examining this issue likely owing to the complexity of such interactions. Such complexities include the wide array of pesticide chemical classes with different modes of actions, the coupling of many bee viruses with ectoparasitic Varroa mites, and the intricate social structure of honey bee colonies. Together, these issues pose a challenge to researchers examining the effects pesticide-virus interactions at both the individual and colony level.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gyan P. Harwood
- Department of Entomology, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, IL 61801, USA;
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47
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Honey bee virus causes context-dependent changes in host social behavior. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2020; 117:10406-10413. [PMID: 32341145 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2002268117] [Citation(s) in RCA: 45] [Impact Index Per Article: 11.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Anthropogenic changes create evolutionarily novel environments that present opportunities for emerging diseases, potentially changing the balance between host and pathogen. Honey bees provide essential pollination services, but intensification and globalization of honey bee management has coincided with increased pathogen pressure, primarily due to a parasitic mite/virus complex. Here, we investigated how honey bee individual and group phenotypes are altered by a virus of concern, Israeli acute paralysis virus (IAPV). Using automated and manual behavioral monitoring of IAPV-inoculated individuals, we find evidence for pathogen manipulation of worker behavior by IAPV, and reveal that this effect depends on social context; that is, within versus between colony interactions. Experimental inoculation reduced social contacts between honey bee colony members, suggesting an adaptive host social immune response to diminish transmission. Parallel analyses with double-stranded RNA (dsRNA)-immunostimulated bees revealed these behaviors are part of a generalized social immune defensive response. Conversely, inoculated bees presented to groups of bees from other colonies experienced reduced aggression compared with dsRNA-immunostimulated bees, facilitating entry into susceptible colonies. This reduction was associated with a shift in cuticular hydrocarbons, the chemical signatures used by bees to discriminate colony members from intruders. These responses were specific to IAPV infection, suggestive of pathogen manipulation of the host. Emerging bee pathogens may thus shape host phenotypes to increase transmission, a strategy especially well-suited to the unnaturally high colony densities of modern apiculture. These findings demonstrate how anthropogenic changes could affect arms races between human-managed hosts and their pathogens to potentially affect global food security.
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