J Vet Sci.  2015 Sep;16(3):289-295. 10.4142/jvs.2015.16.3.289.

Efficacy of silver ions against Sacbrood virus infection in the Eastern honey bee Apis cerana

• Ahn AJ
• Ahn KS
• Suh GH
• Noh JH
• Kim YH
• Yoo MS
• Kang SW
• Shin SS

• KMID: 2344301
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.4142/jvs.2015.16.3.289

Abstract

Although silver is known to be a broad-spectrum biocidal agent, the effects of this metal against Sacbrood virus have not yet been investigated. In this study, we evaluated the efficacy of silver ions against natural Korean sacbrood virus (KSBV) infection of Apis (A.) cerana. Ten KSBV-infected colonies containing A. cerana with similar strength and activity were selected from an apiary located in Bosung-gun (Korea). Among these, five colonies were randomly assigned to the treatment group that was fed sugar syrup containing 0.2 mg/L silver ions. The other colonies were assigned to the untreated control group in which bees were given syrup without the silver ions. To assess the efficacy of the silver ions, colony strength, colony activity, and the number of dead larvae per hive were measured. During the experimental period, the test group maintained its strength and activity until day 32 while those of bees in the control group decreased sharply after day 8 to 16. Survival duration of the test group was significantly longer (40 days) than that of the control group (21 days). These results strongly indicated that silver ions are effective against KSBV infection in A. cerana.

Keyword

Apis cerana; Korean sacbrood virus; silver ion

MeSH Terms

Animals
Antiviral Agents/*pharmacology
Beekeeping
Bees/*virology
Ions/pharmacology
RNA Viruses/*drug effects
Republic of Korea
Silver/*pharmacology
Antiviral Agents
Ions
Silver

Figure

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  Fig. 1 Inner structure of a traditional Japanese-style beehive. (A) Hive lid. (B) Ventilation opening. (C) Hive body. (D) Empty bottom of the hive. (E) Entrance for worker bees.

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  Fig. 2 A Styrofoam set consisting of three disposable plates were placed at the bottom of each beehive. Numerous dead larvae that fell from an infected beehive were observed on the top plate. Sugar syrup was placed in the bottom plate.

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  Fig. 3 Multiple sequence alignment of the partial SBV polyprotein gene amplified by the primer pair SB1-2 (nucleotides 241-669 according to reference sequence AF092924) comparing the Bosung-gun isolates from this study and published sequences from various geographic region. Eight motifs reported to be specific for KSBV by Choe et al. [7] are marked with rectangles.

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  Fig. 4 Colony strength (mean ± SE) of the test (n = 5) and control (n = 5) groups during the experimental period. Condition of the colonies was recorded at five levels. We divided the inner space of each hive box into 16 compartments. When the number of compartments in fine condition was 14 or more (X ≥ 88%), a score of 4 was assigned meaning that the colony was in excellent condition. When the number of compartments in fine condition was 13-10 (88 > X ≥ 63%), 9-6 (63 > X ≥ 38%), 5-2 (38 > X ≥ 13%), or less than 2 (13% > X), scores of 3, 2, 1, and 0, respectively, were assigned. A repeated measured ANOVA revealed a significant difference between the control and test groups after treatment with the silver ions from day 1 to 40 (F = 34.03, p < 0.0001).

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  Fig. 5 Colony activity (mean ± SE) of the test (n = 5) and control (n = 5) groups during the experimental period. The score was based on the number and vitality of the guard bees. When the number of guard bees was over 30, 29-10, 9-1, or 0, the activity was scored as 3, 2, 1, and 0, respectively. A repeated measured ANOVA revealed a significant difference between the control and test groups after treatment with the silver ions from day 1 to 40 (F = 2.757, p < 0.05).

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  Fig. 6 Number of dead larvae (mean ± SE) for the test (n = 5) and control (n = 5) groups during the experimental period. The number of dead larvae that had fallen to the bottom of each beehive and front of the entrance was counted. No significant difference between the control and test groups was observed after treatment with the silver ions according to a repeated measured ANOVA.

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