The Role of Pathogen Dynamics and Immune Gene Expression in the Survival of Feral Honey Bees
Studies of the ecoimmunology of feral organisms can provide valuable insight into how host–pathogen dynamics change as organisms transition from human-managed conditions back into the wild. Honey bees (Apis mellifera Linnaeus) offer an ideal system to investigate these questions as colonies of these...
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doaj-30265fc301d54f4788c31c954038cdc32021-01-13T05:12:30ZengFrontiers Media S.A.Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution2296-701X2021-01-01810.3389/fevo.2020.594263594263The Role of Pathogen Dynamics and Immune Gene Expression in the Survival of Feral Honey BeesChauncy Hinshaw0Kathleen C. Evans1Kathleen C. Evans2Cristina Rosa3Margarita M. López-Uribe4Department of Plant Pathology and Environmental Microbiology, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA, United StatesDepartment of Entomology, University of Maryland, College Park, College Park, MD, United StatesDepartment of Entomology, Center for Pollinator Research, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA, United StatesDepartment of Plant Pathology and Environmental Microbiology, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA, United StatesDepartment of Entomology, Center for Pollinator Research, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA, United StatesStudies of the ecoimmunology of feral organisms can provide valuable insight into how host–pathogen dynamics change as organisms transition from human-managed conditions back into the wild. Honey bees (Apis mellifera Linnaeus) offer an ideal system to investigate these questions as colonies of these social insects often escape management and establish in the wild. While managed honey bee colonies have low probability of survival in the absence of disease treatments, feral colonies commonly survive in the wild, where pathogen pressures are expected to be higher due to the absence of disease treatments. Here, we investigate the role of pathogen infections [Deformed wing virus (DWV), Black queen cell virus (BQCV), and Nosema ceranae] and immune gene expression (defensin-1, hymenoptaecin, pgrp-lc, pgrp-s2, argonaute-2, vago) in the survival of feral and managed honey bee colonies. We surveyed a total of 25 pairs of feral and managed colonies over a 2-year period (2017–2018), recorded overwintering survival, and measured pathogen levels and immune gene expression using quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR). Our results showed that feral colonies had higher levels of DWV but it was variable over time compared to managed colonies. Higher pathogen levels were associated with increased immune gene expression, with feral colonies showing higher expression in five out of the six examined immune genes for at least one sampling period. Further analysis revealed that differential expression of the genes hymenoptaecin and vago increased the odds of overwintering survival in managed and feral colonies. Our results revealed that feral colonies express immune genes at higher levels in response to high pathogen burdens, providing evidence for the role of feralization in altering pathogen landscapes and host immune responses.https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fevo.2020.594263/fullApis melliferaecoimmunologyDeformed wing virus (DWV)hymenoptaecinvago |
collection |
DOAJ |
language |
English |
format |
Article |
sources |
DOAJ |
author |
Chauncy Hinshaw Kathleen C. Evans Kathleen C. Evans Cristina Rosa Margarita M. López-Uribe |
spellingShingle |
Chauncy Hinshaw Kathleen C. Evans Kathleen C. Evans Cristina Rosa Margarita M. López-Uribe The Role of Pathogen Dynamics and Immune Gene Expression in the Survival of Feral Honey Bees Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution Apis mellifera ecoimmunology Deformed wing virus (DWV) hymenoptaecin vago |
author_facet |
Chauncy Hinshaw Kathleen C. Evans Kathleen C. Evans Cristina Rosa Margarita M. López-Uribe |
author_sort |
Chauncy Hinshaw |
title |
The Role of Pathogen Dynamics and Immune Gene Expression in the Survival of Feral Honey Bees |
title_short |
The Role of Pathogen Dynamics and Immune Gene Expression in the Survival of Feral Honey Bees |
title_full |
The Role of Pathogen Dynamics and Immune Gene Expression in the Survival of Feral Honey Bees |
title_fullStr |
The Role of Pathogen Dynamics and Immune Gene Expression in the Survival of Feral Honey Bees |
title_full_unstemmed |
The Role of Pathogen Dynamics and Immune Gene Expression in the Survival of Feral Honey Bees |
title_sort |
role of pathogen dynamics and immune gene expression in the survival of feral honey bees |
publisher |
Frontiers Media S.A. |
series |
Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution |
issn |
2296-701X |
publishDate |
2021-01-01 |
description |
Studies of the ecoimmunology of feral organisms can provide valuable insight into how host–pathogen dynamics change as organisms transition from human-managed conditions back into the wild. Honey bees (Apis mellifera Linnaeus) offer an ideal system to investigate these questions as colonies of these social insects often escape management and establish in the wild. While managed honey bee colonies have low probability of survival in the absence of disease treatments, feral colonies commonly survive in the wild, where pathogen pressures are expected to be higher due to the absence of disease treatments. Here, we investigate the role of pathogen infections [Deformed wing virus (DWV), Black queen cell virus (BQCV), and Nosema ceranae] and immune gene expression (defensin-1, hymenoptaecin, pgrp-lc, pgrp-s2, argonaute-2, vago) in the survival of feral and managed honey bee colonies. We surveyed a total of 25 pairs of feral and managed colonies over a 2-year period (2017–2018), recorded overwintering survival, and measured pathogen levels and immune gene expression using quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR). Our results showed that feral colonies had higher levels of DWV but it was variable over time compared to managed colonies. Higher pathogen levels were associated with increased immune gene expression, with feral colonies showing higher expression in five out of the six examined immune genes for at least one sampling period. Further analysis revealed that differential expression of the genes hymenoptaecin and vago increased the odds of overwintering survival in managed and feral colonies. Our results revealed that feral colonies express immune genes at higher levels in response to high pathogen burdens, providing evidence for the role of feralization in altering pathogen landscapes and host immune responses. |
topic |
Apis mellifera ecoimmunology Deformed wing virus (DWV) hymenoptaecin vago |
url |
https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fevo.2020.594263/full |
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