Intracellular parasites can alter the cellular machinery of host cells to create a safe haven for their survival. In this regard, microsporidia are obligate intracellular fungal parasites with extremely reduced genomes and hence, they are strongly dependent on their host for energy and resources. To date, there are few studies into host cell manipulation by microsporidia, most of which have foc...

Miniature inverted-repeat transposable elements (MITEs) are short, non-autonomous DNA transposons, which are widespread in most eukaryotic genomes. However, genome-wide identification, origin and evolution of MITEs remain largely obscure in microsporidia. In this study, we investigated structural features for de novo identification of MITEs in genomes of silkworm microsporidia Nosema bombycis a...

Interactions between parasites and environmental factors have been implicated in the loss of managed Western honey bee (=HB, Apis mellifera) colonies. Although laboratory data suggest that cold temperature may limit the spread of Nosema ceranae, an invasive species and now ubiquitous endoparasite of Western HBs, the impact of weather conditions on the distribution of this microsporidian in the ...

Pathogens and pollutants, such as pesticides, are potential stressors to all living organisms, including honey bees. Herbicides fungicides among the most prevalent pesticides in beehive matrices, their interaction with Nosema ceranae is not well understood. In this study, interactions between N. ceranae, herbicide glyphosate fungicide difenoconazole were studied under combined sequential overla...

Multiple mating (and insemination) by females with different males, polyandry, is widespread across animals, due to material and/or genetic benefits for females. It reaches particularly high levels in some social insects, in which queens can produce significantly fitter colonies by being polyandrous. It is therefore a paradox that two thirds of eusocial hymenopteran insects appear to be exclusi...

Bombus atratus bumblebees from Colombia that were caught in the wild and from breeding programs were screened for a broad set of bee pathogens. We discovered for the first time Lake Sinai Virus and confirmed the infection by other common viruses. The prevalence of Apicystis bombi, Crithidia bombi and Nosema ceranae was remarkably high. According to other studies the former two could have been c...