Honeybee-Specific Lactic Acid Bacterium Supplements Have No Effect on American Foulbrood-Infected Honeybee Colonies.

ABSTRACT: Paenibacillus larvae, the causative agent of American foulbrood (AFB), is the primary bacterial pathogen affecting honeybees and beekeeping. The main methods for controlling AFB are incineration of diseased colonies or prophylactic antibiotic treatment (e.g., with tylosin), neither of which is fully satisfactory. The search for superior means for controlling AFB has led to an increased interest in the natural relationships between the honeybee-pathogenic and mutualistic microorganisms and, in particular, the antagonistic effects of honeybee-specific lactic acid bacteria (hbs-LAB) against P. larvae These effects have been demonstrated only on individual larvae in controlled laboratory bioassays. Here we investigated whether supplemental administration of hbs-LAB had a similar beneficial eff

SUBMITTER: Stephan JG 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6581185 | biostudies-literature | 2019 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature