Nosema Disease: Lack of Knowledge and Work ... - COLOSS

NOSEMA DISEASE: LACK OF KNOWLEDGE AND
WORK STANDARDIZATION
Scope of Workshop:
Up to the moment, two different microsporidia species have been shown to infect Apis
mellifera: Nosema apis and Nosema ceranae. While the disease due to N. apis has been widely
studied, those due to N. ceranae only has been studied in the last four years. Due to the recent
description of this last agent, there are several question about the epidemiology, pathology,
diagnostic and control that have to bee answered. The workshop “Nosema disease: lack of
knowledge and work standardization” has been designed to put all the knowledge together
and to standardize some specific aspects for researching. The workshop goal will be to answer
the most of questions that the researchers have nowadays or to determine how that questions
could be studied to get answered. With this objective, all the COLOSS member will be asked
for questions that feel have to be answered in an open call (even in the case they are not
interested to join to the workshop). Questions will be grouped by topic and speakers will
describe what it is know and unknown in every topic and a discussion will be made afterwards.
Conclusions of Workshop:
1. The disease caused by Nosema ceranae is not similar to nosemosis by Nosema apis.
2. A proposal to differentiate nosemosis by Nosema apis as “nosemosis type A” and
nosemosis by Nosema ceranae as “nosemosis type C”.
3. Koch´s postulates have been confirmed in nosemosis by Nosema ceranae.
4. There is a relationship between Nosema ceranae and bee losses in some cases.
5. Standard protocol for experimental infection will be discussed by a specialist panel that
has been formed during the Workshop: Marie Pierre Chauzat (Head), Violeta Santrac,
Zachary Huang, Asli Özkirim, Raquel Martín-Hernández, Ulrike Hartmann, Claudia
Dussabaut, Frederic Delbac, Antonio Nanetti.
6. There is a need of Nosema apis genome to compare both (N. apis and N. ceranae) to
find differences that can explain observations
7. New genetic markers must be developed for monitoring the disease