Recently, the Resource Insect Protection Team at the Institute of Apicultural Research of the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences has made progressive achievements in the biological control of honeybee diseases. The research team isolated two strains with probiotic functions from the gut of adult Western honeybees (Apis mellifera), which exhibited inhibitory effects against Paenibacillus larvae, the pathogen responsible for American foulbrood (AFB)—a critical disease affecting honeybee larvae. The relevant research findings have been published in Entomologia Generalis.

American foulbrood (AFB) is a bacterial disease of honeybees caused by Paenibacillus larvae. Probiotics play an important role in resistance to pathogens in honeybees. Two strains 74-8 and FB-1 with inhibitory effects on P. larvae were isolated from the whole gut of honeybees, and the multiple probiotic properties and safety in honeybee larvae were tested to assess their potential use in the prevention of AFB. Leuconostoc citreum 74-8 and Latilactobacillus sakei FB-1 could inhibit P. larvae by producing acid in vitro and increased the survival rates of larvae infected with P. larvae by approximately 30 % in vivo. L. citreum 74-8 and L. sakei FB-1 could colonize honeybee larvae and significantly increase the abundance of dominant microorganisms, as well as modulate the transcription of antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) apidaecin, abaecin, hymenoptaecin in honeybee larvae infected with P. larvae. L. citreum 74-8 and L. sakei FB-1 exhibited probiotic characteristics and effectively antagonized AFB through multiple mechanisms. This study will expand our knowledge of the honeybee gut native bacteria against the pathogen and highlight a new strategy for the control of AFB.

This research was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China, the Agricultural Science and Technology Innovation Program of the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, and the National Key Research and Development Program of China.

Article Link:

https://www.schweizerbart.de/papers/entomologia/detail/prepub/106906/Newly_isolated_b