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The use of lysozyme-HCl and nisin to control the causal agent of chalkbrood disease (Ascosphaera apis (Maassen ex Claussen) Olive and Spiltoir) in honey bees (Apis mellifera L.)

  • Author / Creator
    Van Haga, Amanda L.
  • Chalkbrood, caused by Ascosphaera apis (Maassen ex Claussen) Olive & Spiltor, is a cosmopolitan fungal disease of honey bee larvae (Apis mellifera L.) for which there is no chemotherapeutic control. Using in vitro larval rearing methods, lysozyme-HCl, a food-grade antimicrobial extracted from hen egg albumen, was found to suppress chalkbrood at levels of 0.75-1.5% (μg/mL) of larval diet. In field trials, lysozyme-HCl did not affect adult bee survival or brood production and did effectively suppress the development of chalkbrood disease. Daily chalkbrood mummy production decreased by a factor of 10 in colonies treated with three treatments of 6000 mg of lysozyme-HCl when compared with infected, untreated controls and reduced disease symptoms to levels observed in uninfected colonies. Honey production was also found to be significantly negatively correlated with increased disease severity. Lysozyme-HCl is a promising safe therapeutic agent for the control of chalkbrood in honey bee colonies.

  • Subjects / Keywords
  • Graduation date
    Fall 2010
  • Type of Item
    Thesis
  • Degree
    Master of Science
  • DOI
    https://doi.org/10.7939/R3CQ1W
  • License
    This thesis is made available by the University of Alberta Libraries with permission of the copyright owner solely for non-commercial purposes. This thesis, or any portion thereof, may not otherwise be copied or reproduced without the written consent of the copyright owner, except to the extent permitted by Canadian copyright law.