Number of honey bee died during the field trials.

Nosema disease, caused by Nosema ceranae, one of the single-celled fungal microsporidian parasites, is one of the most important and common diseases of adult honey bees. Since fumagillin, which has been used for decades in the control of Nosema disease in honey bees (Apis mellifera), poses a toxic threat and its efficacy against N. ceranae is uncertain, there is an urgent need to develop alternative prophylactic and curative strategies for the treatment of this disease. The main aim of this study was to investigate the therapeutic potential of specific egg yolk immunoglobulins (IgY) on Nosema disease. For this purpose, the presence of N. ceranae was determined by microscopic and PCR methods in honey bees collected from Nosema suspicious colonies by conducting a field survey. Layered Ataks chickens, divided into four groups each containing 20 animals, were vaccinated with live and inactivated vaccines prepared from field isolates of N. ceranae. Eggs were collected weekly for 10 weeks following the last vaccination. IgY extraction was performed using the PEG precipitation method from egg yolks collected from each group, and the purity of the antibodies was determined by SDS-PAGE and Western Blot. The presence of N. ceranae-specific IgYs was investigated by Western Blot and indirect ELISA methods. It was determined that specific IgYs showed high therapeutic efficacy on Nosema disease in naturally infected bee colonies. In addition, honey bees collected from infected colonies were brought to the laboratory and placed in cages with 30 bees each, and the effectiveness of IgYs was investigated under controlled conditions. It was detected that specific IgY reduced the Nosema spore load and the number of infected bees significantly in both the field and experimental study groups treated for seven days. It was concluded that chicken IgYs, an innovative and eco-friendly method, had a significant potential for use as an alternative to antifungal drugs.

蜜蜂微孢子虫病（Nosema disease）由东方蜜蜂微孢子虫（Nosema ceranae）——一种单细胞真菌类微孢子虫寄生虫——引发，是成年蜜蜂最常见且危害最为严重的病害之一。烟曲霉素（fumagillin）已被使用数十年用于防治西方蜜蜂（Apis mellifera）的微孢子虫病，但该药物存在毒性威胁，且对N. ceranae的防治效果尚不明确，因此亟需开发替代的预防与治疗策略以应对该病害。本研究的核心目标为探究特异性卵黄免疫球蛋白（IgY）对蜜蜂微孢子虫病的治疗潜力。为此，研究人员通过田间调查，利用显微镜检测与聚合酶链式反应（PCR）方法，对从疑似感染微孢子虫的蜂群中采集的蜜蜂样本进行N. ceranae感染情况鉴定。将阿塔克蛋鸡（Layered Ataks chickens）随机分为4组，每组20只，分别使用从田间分离得到的N. ceranae菌株制备的活疫苗与灭活疫苗进行免疫接种。末次免疫后，连续10周每周收集鸡蛋。采用聚乙二醇（PEG）沉淀法从各组采集的蛋黄中提取IgY，并通过十二烷基硫酸钠-聚丙烯酰胺凝胶电泳（SDS-PAGE）与蛋白质印迹（Western Blot）检测抗体纯度。通过蛋白质印迹与间接酶联免疫吸附试验（ELISA）鉴定N. ceranae特异性IgY的存在。研究发现，特异性IgY对自然感染微孢子虫病的蜂群具有较高的治疗效果。此外，研究人员将从感染蜂群采集的蜜蜂带回实验室，以每笼30只的规格置于饲养笼中，在可控实验条件下探究IgY的防治效果。结果显示，经过7天的治疗，无论是田间组还是实验研究组，特异性IgY均可显著降低微孢子虫孢子载荷量与受感染蜜蜂的数量。本研究最终得出结论：作为一种创新且环保的防治手段，鸡源IgY具备作为抗真菌药物替代方案的显著应用潜力。