Fouling European Foulbrood: Exploring Disinfectants to Protect Honey Bees from a Common Bacterial Disease

Commodities

Practices

The objective of this project "Fouling European Foulbrood: Exploring Disinfectants to Protect Honey Bees from a Common Bacterial Disease" is to identify safe disinfectants that are effective at reducing the amount of the honey pathogen 'Melissococcus plutonius' on beekeeping equipment. Our long-term envisioned outcome is to provide disinfection recommendations for beekeepers to use to protect their colonies from the persistent and devastating European Foulbrood disease (EFB).

This proposal is split into three objectives:

In Objective 1 we will assess which disinfectants can reduce growth of 'M. plutonius'. The bacterium will be grown and applied to wooden dowels. These inoculated dowels will then be exposed to varying concentrations of the experimental disinfectants to identify any candidate disinfectants. The minimum inhibitory concentrations (MICs) of these disinfectants required to reduce the bacterial load will also be determined.

In Objective 2 we will test the most promising candidate disinfectants from Objective 1 at their MICs to assess the physical impacts they have on the structures 'M. plutonius' forms when dried on wood. This assessment will utilize both standard microbiology methodology to quantify residual bacterial concentration and powerful scanning electron microscopy to produce images of these disinfectants' impacts.

Objective 3 will be a combination of sharing out the results of our research and assessing any proposed or realized changes beekeepers make to their operations in relation to our research. The status and results of the research will be shared with beekeepers in a variety of methods, working the Michigan Beekeepers Association (MBA) and MSU's Apicultural Extension educator, Ana Heck. A combination will be used of outreach and monitoring tools to describe learning and behavioral changes with beekeeper engagement.

One outcome of this work is the benefit to bee researchers by expanding the knowledge base of how 'M. plutonius' survives in the hive. Our proposed scanning electron microscopy will capture the world's first images of how this bacteria physically reacts to disinfectants, crucial for understanding how EFB structurally resists treatments. Understanding the fundamentals of these mechanisms will provide us with information on how future beekeeping practices should be designed to minimize the risk of EFB.

The second outcome is further data on how disinfectants work on beekeeping equipment. Even negative data from this project will be useful, as it will prevent beekeepers from spending time and money on treatments that are not effective. We will share all of our results, including negative data to increase the strength of our treatment recommendations.

The third outcome will be spreading informational awareness through beekeeper engagement. Many beekeepers do not know how to identify EFB and may be incorrectly treating their hives, or may be completely unaware of the risks of importing this disease on contaminated equipment. It is of utmost importance to ensure beekeepers are informed and have the tools they need to address this disease and treat their equipment.