Urbanization Increases Pathogen Pressure on Feral and Managed Honey Bees.

ABSTRACT: Given the role of infectious disease in global pollinator decline, there is a need to understand factors that shape pathogen susceptibility and transmission in bees. Here we ask how urbanization affects the immune response and pathogen load of feral and managed colonies of honey bees (Apis mellifera Linnaeus), the predominant economically important pollinator worldwide. Using quantitative real-time PCR, we measured expression of 4 immune genes and relative abundance of 10 honey bee pathogens. We also measured worker survival in a laboratory bioassay. We found that pathogen pressure on honey bees increased with urbanization and management, and the probability of worker survival declined 3-fold along our urbanization gradient. The effect of management on pathogens appears to be mediated by i

SUBMITTER: Youngsteadt E 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4633120 | biostudies-literature | 2015

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature