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Hi All,
Just ran across this, it seems to have a lot more =20
credibility than the stress theory of the CCD
Working Group, however it's still just a theory.
Kent
------------------------------------------------------------------------=20=
------
Fungus fingered in US honeybee wipeout
Possible cause of Colony Collapse Disorder?
Scientists may have fingered a possible major contributory cause to =20
Colony Collapse Disorder (CCD) - the hitherto unexplained =20
disappearance of millions of honeybees in Europe, the US and =20
seemingly Taiwan.
According to the Los Angeles Times, researchers have identified the =20
single-celled fungus Nosema ceranae in dead bees from hives in Merced =20=
County, California. Other teams have similarly spotted the fungus in =20
affected hives across the US, as well as two further fungi and 12 =20
viral infections.
Powdered dead bee samples from the California hives were analysed by =20
Dr. Charles Wick of the US Army's Edgewood Chemical Biological Center =20=
in Maryland using a "new system of genetic analysis". Wick pinned =20
down several viruses, "including members of a recently identified =20
genus called iflaviruses". These RNA-containing viruses infect the =20
Varroa mite, which in turn lives on honeybees, and scientists =20
speculate they may be fatal to bees.
The center's Evan W. Skowronski was able to offer a more clear-cut =20
explanation for CCD, though. He said: "There was a lot of stuff from =20
Nosema, about 25 per cent of the total. That meant there was more =20
than there was bee RNA. That leads me to believe that the bee died =20
from that particular pathogen."
Skowronski forwarded the tested bee samples to UC San Francisco =20
biochemist Joe DeRisi, who confirmed "evidence of the viruses, along =20
with genetic material from N. ceranae".
The upshot of all this is hope for the US's beekeepers. If N. ceranae =20=
is largely responsible for CCD, then scientists hope the antibiotic =20
fumagilli - used to control the closely-related Nosema apis - might =20
do the trick. It would be a timely cure: since last Autumn, 2.4 =20
million commercial colonies across the United States have succumbed =20
to CCD, according to Jerry Hayes of the Florida Department of =20
Agriculture and Consumer Services in Gainesville.
However, DeRisi said at a meeting in Washington DC where 60 bee =20
experts had got together to discuss CCD that the results were "highly =20=
preliminary". He warned: "We don't want to give anybody the =20
impression that this thing has been solved."
Entomologist Diana Cox-Foster of Pennsylvania State University =20
explained that Nosema ceranae represents "one of many pathogens" in =20
the bees. She elaborated: "By itself, it is probably not the culprit =20
=85 but it may be one of the key players." =AE
------------------------------------------------------------------
--Apple-Mail-75-176824777
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<HTML><BODY style=3D"word-wrap: break-word; -khtml-nbsp-mode: space; =
-khtml-line-break: after-white-space; ">Hi All,<DIV>=A0=A0 =A0=A0 =A0=A0 =
=A0=A0 =A0Just ran across this, it seems to have a lot more credibility =
than the stress theory of the CCD</DIV><DIV>Working Group, however it's =
still just a theory.</DIV><DIV><BR =
class=3D"khtml-block-placeholder"></DIV><DIV>Kent</DIV><DIV><BR =
class=3D"khtml-block-placeholder"></DIV><DIV style=3D"font-size: 20px; =
"><B>---------------------------------------------------------------------=
---------</B></DIV><DIV><BR class=3D"khtml-block-placeholder"></DIV><DIV =
style=3D"margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; =
margin-left: 0px; "><FONT class=3D"Apple-style-span" size=3D"5"><SPAN =
class=3D"Apple-style-span" style=3D"font-size: 17px; text-decoration: =
underline;"><B>Fungus fingered in US honeybee =
wipeout</B></SPAN></FONT></DIV><DIV style=3D"margin-top: 0px; =
margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; ">Possible =
cause of Colony Collapse Disorder?</DIV><DIV style=3D"margin-top: 0px; =
margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal =
normal normal 12px/normal Helvetica; min-height: 14px; "><BR></DIV><DIV =
style=3D"margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; =
margin-left: 0px; ">Scientists may have fingered a possible major =
contributory cause to Colony Collapse Disorder (CCD) - the hitherto =
unexplained disappearance of millions of honeybees in Europe, the US and =
seemingly Taiwan.</DIV><DIV style=3D"margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; =
margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; ">According to the Los Angeles =
Times, researchers have identified the single-celled fungus Nosema =
ceranae in dead bees from hives in Merced County, California. Other =
teams have similarly spotted the fungus in affected hives across the US, =
as well as two further fungi and 12 viral infections.</DIV><DIV =
style=3D"margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; =
margin-left: 0px; ">Powdered dead bee samples from the California hives =
were analysed by Dr. Charles Wick of the US Army's Edgewood Chemical =
Biological Center in Maryland using a "new system of genetic analysis". =
Wick pinned down several viruses, "including members of a recently =
identified genus called iflaviruses". These RNA-containing viruses =
infect the Varroa mite, which in turn lives on honeybees, and scientists =
speculate they may be fatal to bees.</DIV><DIV style=3D"margin-top: 0px; =
margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; ">The center's =
Evan W. Skowronski was able to offer a more clear-cut explanation for =
CCD, though. He said: "There was a lot of stuff from Nosema, about 25 =
per cent of the total. That meant there was more than there was bee RNA. =
That leads me to believe that the bee died from that particular =
pathogen."</DIV><DIV style=3D"margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; =
margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; ">Skowronski forwarded the tested =
bee samples to UC San Francisco biochemist Joe DeRisi, who confirmed =
"evidence of the viruses, along with genetic material from N. =
ceranae".</DIV><DIV style=3D"margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; =
margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; ">The upshot of all this is hope =
for the US's beekeepers. If N. ceranae is largely responsible for CCD, =
then scientists hope the antibiotic fumagilli - used to control the =
closely-related Nosema apis - might do the trick. It would be a timely =
cure: since last Autumn, 2.4 million commercial colonies across the =
United States have succumbed to CCD, according to Jerry Hayes of the =
Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services in =
Gainesville.</DIV><DIV style=3D"margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; =
margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; ">However, DeRisi said at a =
meeting in Washington DC where 60 bee experts had got together to =
discuss CCD that the results were "highly preliminary". He warned: "We =
don't want to give anybody the impression that this thing has been =
solved."</DIV><DIV style=3D"margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; =
margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; ">Entomologist Diana Cox-Foster of =
Pennsylvania State University explained that Nosema ceranae represents =
"one of many pathogens" in the bees. She elaborated: "By itself, it is =
probably not the culprit =85 but it may be one of the key players." =
=AE</DIV><P style=3D"margin: 0.0px 0.0px 9.0px 0.0px"><FONT =
class=3D"Apple-style-span" size=3D"6"><SPAN class=3D"Apple-style-span" =
style=3D"font-size: =
24px;"><B>----------------------------------------------------------------=
--</B></SPAN></FONT></P><DIV style=3D"margin-top: 0px; margin-right: =
0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal =
16px/normal Helvetica; min-height: 19px; "><BR></DIV><DIV =
style=3D"margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; =
margin-left: 0px; "><FONT class=3D"Apple-style-span" size=3D"4"><SPAN =
class=3D"Apple-style-span" style=3D"font-size: 16px;"><BR =
class=3D"khtml-block-placeholder"></SPAN></FONT></DIV></BODY></HTML>=
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