Open AccessInfluence of chronic exposure to thiamethoxam and chronic bee paralysis virus on winter honey bees
Author(s) -
Marianne Coulon,
Frank M. Schurr,
AnneClaire Martel,
Nicolas Cougoule,
Adrien Bégaud,
Patrick Mangoni,
Gennaro Di Prisco,
Anne Dalmon,
Cédric Alaux,
Magali RibièreChabert,
Yves Le Conte,
Richard Thiéry,
Éric Dubois
Publication year - 2019
Publication title -
plos one
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.99
H-Index - 332
ISSN - 1932-6203
DOI - 10.1371/journal.pone.0220703
Subject(s) - thiamethoxam , biology , honey bee , clothianidin , apiary , toxicology , neonicotinoid , nectar , pesticide , zoology , pollen , imidacloprid , botany , ecology
Co-exposure to pesticides and viruses is likely to occur in honey bee colonies. Pesticides can be present in pollen, nectar, and persist in stored food (honey and bee bread), and viruses can be highly prevalent in honey bee colonies. Therefore, the present study describes the influence of chronic co-exposure to thiamethoxam and Chronic bee paralysis virus (CBPV) on bee survival, virus loads, expression level of immune and detoxication genes, and pesticide metabolism Experiments were performed on honey bees collected from a winter apiary with reduced viral contaminations. No synergistic effect of co-exposure was observed on bee survival, nor on the ability of bees to metabolise the pesticide into clothianidin. However, we found that co-exposure caused an increase in CBPV loads that reached the viral levels usually found in overt infections. The effect of co-exposure on CBPV replication was associated with down-regulation of vitellogenin and dorsal-1a gene transcription. Nevertheless, the observed effects might be different to those occurring in spring or summer bees, which are more likelyco-exposed to thiamethoxam and CBPV and exhibit a different physiology.