Honey Bee Pathogen Prevalence and Interactions within the Marmara Region of Turkey.

ABSTRACT: Beekeeping has yet to reach its full potential in terms of productivity in Turkey where it has a relatively large role in the economy. Poor colony health is suspected to be the reason for this, but comprehensive disease monitoring programs are lacking to support this notion. We sampled a total of 115 colonies across five different apiaries throughout the Marmara region of Turkey and screened for all of the major bee pathogens using PCR and RNA-seq methods. We found that Varroa mites are more prevalent in comparison to Nosema infections. The pathogens ABPV, DWV, KV, and VDV1 are near 100% prevalent and are the most abundant across all locations, which are known to be vectored by the Varroa mite. We therefore suspect that controlling Varroa mites will be key for i

SUBMITTER: Mayack C 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9610934 | biostudies-literature | 2022 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature