AUTHOR=Cilia Giovanni , Flaminio Simone , Zavatta Laura , Ranalli Rosa , Quaranta Marino , Bortolotti Laura , Nanetti Antonio 

TITLE=Occurrence of Honey Bee (Apis mellifera L.) Pathogens in Wild Pollinators in Northern Italy

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Cellular and Infection Microbiology

VOLUME=Volume 12 - 2022

YEAR=2022

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/cellular-and-infection-microbiology/articles/10.3389/fcimb.2022.907489

DOI=10.3389/fcimb.2022.907489

ISSN=2235-2988

ABSTRACT=Diseases contribute to the decline of pollinator populations, which may be aggravated by the interspecific transmission of honey bee pests and pathogens. The flowers increase the risk that transmission occurs, as they expose the pollinators to infections during the foraging activity. In this study, both prevalence and abundance of 21 honey bee pathogens (11 viruses, 4 bacteria, 3 fungi, and 3 trypanosomatids) were assessed in the flower-visiting entomofauna sampled from March to September 2021 in seven sites of the two North-Italian regions Emilia-Romagna and Piedmont. A total of 1028 specimens were collected, identified, and analyzed. Of the twenty-one pathogens that were searched for, only thirteen were detected. Altogether, the prevalence of the positive individuals reached 63.9%, being N. ceranae, DWV, and CBPV the most prevalent pathogens. In general, the abundance averaged 5.15*106 copies, with CBPV, N. ceranae, and BQCV as the most abundant pathogens, with 8.63, 1.58, and 0.48*1077, respectively. All the detected viruses were found as replicative. The sequence analysis indicated that the same genetic variant was circulating in a specific site or region, suggesting that spillover events among honey bees and wild pollinators are possible. Frequently, N. ceranae and DWV were found to co-infect the same individual. The circulation of honey bee pathogens in wild pollinators was never approached before in Italy. Our study resulted in the unprecedented detection of 72 wild pollinator species as potential hosts of honey bee pathogens. Those results encourage the implementation of monitoring actions aiming to improve our understanding of the environmental implications of such interspecific transmission events, which is pivotal to embracing a One-Health approach to the pollinators’ welfare.