Use of the honey bee (Apis mellifera) cell line, AME-711, as a model for Nosema sp. infection

Beekeepers have found it exceedingly difficult in recent years to maintain healthy and productive honey bee (Apis mellifera) colonies.  A significant challenge to the beekeeping industry has been the emergence of Colony Collapse Disorder (CCD), which is the suspected culprit of abnormally high colony death reported annually.  The consensus among beekeepers and researchers is that CCD stems from a culmination of many factors, such as nutritional deficiencies, pesticides, parasites, and pathogens.  Intracellular microbes such as the fungus, Nosema ceranae, and viruses that rely on the host cell for development and reproduction are one set of factors that cause particular concern as they have high prevalence and burden in dead and dying colonies.  A lack of in vitro culture systems comprised of host cells has been a major obstacle to the study of intracellular pathogens that have a negative impact on bee health.  Here, we report on the use of the honey bee cell line, AME-711, for axenic growth of the emerging pathogen, N. ceranae.  We show that the AME-711 line is susceptible to N. ceranae infection.  We also present preliminary findings comparing the development of N. ceranae to N. apis, a similar fungal pathogen long recognized in apiculture.