CCD

    Among beekeepers worldwide, Colony Collapse Disorder (CCD), a disorder in which European Honey Bee colonies suddenly experience a massive reduction in worker number, has become a prominent concern, afflicting up to 50% of colonies within certain regions, and posing a very real threat to the industry of apiculture. Though many possible causes of the disorder have been posed, ranging from the EM interference from cellular phones (in one questionable study) to pathogen-related stressors, no studies seem to agree, or even reach a reliable conclusion (with each other), on what seems to be causing this disorder. 

    Bromenshenk et al (2010) used mass spectrometry-based proteomics (MSP) to attempt to identify potential markers of CCD.  "Mass spectrometry yielded unambiguous peptide fragment data that was processed by bioinformatics tools against the full library of peptide sequences based on both genomic and proteomic research."  The authors contended that this method allowed for detection and classification of pathogens (fungi, bacteria, and viruses) or causative agents in "a single pass" which was "unrestricted by the need for amplification".  Ultimately their analysis revealed the presence of two previously unreported RNA viruses, as well as a highly significant correlation between the presence of a (DNA) virus and Nosema ceranae in CCD afflicted colonies.

    The most significant find of this study was the occurrence of the invertebrate iridescent DNA virus (IIV--IIV-6 to be more precise, however the authors go on to postulate that it might be a variant of this virus) in 100% of colonies that were collapsing or collapsed.  Furthermore, there seemed to be a relationship between the level of infection/peptide presence and the effect on the colonies (with 75% of strong colonies being infected with the IIV-6 but at a much lower level).  They also observed that a specific group of Nosema seemed to co-occur with IIV in failing colonies in a very significant way, and the pathogen levels increased (according to MSP) as the collapse progressed.

    These data (along with another analysis in the paper not covered here) seem to indicate that CCD, a condition that has yet to be given a reliable causative agent till now, is caused by a co-occurrence of a DNA virus (IIV-6ish) and intracellular pathogen (Nosema).  Though the authors results seem reliable, caution should be recommended given this condition's history of eliciting grandiose claims of significance.
   



-Bromenshenk et al. (2010) Iridovirus and Microsporidian linked to Honey Bee Colony Decline. PLoS One 5(10): e13181
doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0013181