Palmer-Young, Evan, Sadd, Ben M., Stevenson, Philip C. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0736-3619, Irwin, Rebecca E. and Adler, Lynn S. (2016) Bumble bee parasite strains vary in resistance to phytochemicals. Scientific Reports, 6:37087. ISSN 2045-2322 (Print), 2045-2322 (Online) (doi:10.1038/srep37087)

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Abstract

Nectar and pollen contain diverse phytochemicals that can reduce disease in pollinators. However, prior studies showed variable effects of nectar chemicals on infection, which could reflect variable phytochemical resistance among parasite strains. Inter-strain variation in resistance could influence evolutionary interactions between plants, pollinators, and pollinator disease, but testing direct effects of phytochemicals on parasites requires elimination of variation between bees. Using cell cultures of the bumble bee parasite Crithidia bombi, we determined (1) growth-inhibiting effects of nine floral phytochemicals and (2) variation in phytochemical resistance among four parasite strains.

C. bombi growth was unaffected by naturally occurring concentrations of the known antitrypanosomal phenolics gallic acid, caffeic acid, and chlorogenic acid. However, C. bombi growth was inhibited by anabasine, eugenol, and thymol. Strains varied >3-fold in phytochemical resistance, suggesting that selection for phytochemical resistance could drive parasite evolution. Inhibitory concentrations of thymol (4.53-22.2 ppm) were similar to concentrations in Thymus vulgaris nectar (mean 5.2 ppm). Exposure of C. bombi to naturally occurring levels of phytochemicals—either within bees or during parasite transmission via flowers—could influence infection in nature. Flowers that produce antiparasitic phytochemical, including thymol, could potentially reduce infection in Bombus populations, thereby counteracting a possible contributor to pollinator decline.

Item Type:	Article
Additional Information:	© The Author(s) 2016. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. The images or other third party material in this article are included in the article’s Creative Commons license, unless indicated otherwise in the credit line; if the material is not included under the Creative Commons license, users will need to obtain permission from the license holder to reproduce the material. To view a copy of this license, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
Uncontrolled Keywords:	Bombus; Crithidia bombi; plant secondary metabolites; floral chemistry; cell culture; EC50; antitrypanosomal
Subjects:	S Agriculture > S Agriculture (General)
Faculty / School / Research Centre / Research Group:	Faculty of Engineering & Science Faculty of Engineering & Science > Natural Resources Institute Faculty of Engineering & Science > Natural Resources Institute > Chemical Ecology Research Group
Last Modified:	27 Apr 2020 15:52
URI:	http://gala.gre.ac.uk/id/eprint/15876

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