
Silvio ErlerJulius Kühn-Institut · Institute for Bee Protection
Silvio Erler
PD Dr. habil.
About
87
Publications
57,536
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Introduction
My research interests can be summarized as follows:
- Host-parasite evolution
- Biology of social insect diseases
- Ageing and immunity of social insects (Apis, Bombus)
- Evolution of insect innate immune system and behavioural immunity
- Genetic basis of caste determination
- Evolution of mitochondrial genomes (social insects, Orthoptera)
- Genome annotation, immunity genes (Bombus)
- Ecotoxicology (chemical, biological plant protection products and bees)
- Nutrition and physiology
Additional affiliations
August 2020 - present
Julius Kühn-Institut Braunschweig
Position
- Deputy Head of the Institute
March 2022 - present
October 2019 - July 2020
Education
May 2013 - April 2018
April 2008 - December 2011
October 2003 - March 2008
Publications
Publications (87)
Honey bees (Apis mellifera) have to withstand various environmental stressors alone or in combination in agriculture settings. Plant protection products are applied to achieve high crop yield, but residues of their active substances are frequently detected in bee matrices and could affect honey bee colonies. In addition, intensified agriculture cou...
European foulbrood (EFB) is a severe bacterial honey bee brood disease caused by the Grampositive bacterium Melissocccus plutonius. The disease is widely distributed worldwide, and is an increasing problem in some areas. Although the causative agent of EFB was described almost a century ago, many basic aspects of its pathogenesis are still unknown....
Background
The evaluation of the impact of pesticides on non-target species, like bees, is a crucial factor in registration procedures. Therefore, standardized test procedures have been developed on OECD level assessing the effects of chemicals on honey bees or bumble bees. Unfortunately, these protocols cannot directly be adapted for testing produ...
Residues of plant protection products (PPPs) are frequently detected in bee matrices1,2,3,4,5,6 due to foraging bees collecting contaminated nectar and pollen, which they bring back to their hive. The collected material is further used by nurse bees to produce glandular secretions for feeding their larvae.7 Potential exposure to PPPs occurs through...
ABBA (Apple, Bee, Bacteria, Antagonists) onFire (Fire Blight) is a three-year internal consortium project at the Julius Kühn Institute (JKI), in which six JKI institutes are involved. In this project, an innovative treatment approach based on natural tailocin-producing bacteria is being investigated to combat the fire blight pathogen Erwinia amylov...
Like humans, animals use plants and other materials as medication against parasites. Recent decades have shown that the study of insects can greatly advance our understanding of medication behaviors. The ease of rearing insects under laboratory conditions has enabled controlled experiments to test critical hypotheses, while their spectrum of reprod...
Biopesticides, having as active ingredients viruses, bacteria, or fungi, are developed to substitute or reduce the use of chemical plant protection products in different agrosystems. Though the application of mixtures containing several products is a common practice, interactions between microbial biopesticides and related effects on bees as non-ta...
Bees are the most important group of insect pollinators, but their populations are declining. To gain a better understanding of wild bee responses to different stressors (e.g. land-use change) and conservation measures, regional and national monitoring schemes are currently being established in Germany, which is used here as a model region, and in...
Context
Wild bees are important pollinators for wild and cultivated plants. Besides other causes, their decline has been linked to land-use change such as urbanisation. In contrast, urban habitats are discussed as potential wild bee refuges.
Objectives
To expand our understanding of cities as wild bee habitats, bee responses to urban land-use type...
Stylops ater is an endoparasite of the mining bee Andrena vaga with extreme sexual dimorphism and hypermetamorphosis. Its population structure, parasitation mode, genetic diversity and impact on host morphology were examined in nesting sites in Germany to better understand this highly specialized host-parasite interaction. The shift in host emergen...
The western honey bee Apis mellifera is globally distributed due to its beekeeping advantages and plays an important role in the global ecology and economy. In recent decades, several studies have raised concerns about bee decline. Discussed are multiple reasons such as increased pathogen pressure, malnutrition or pesticide use. Insecticides are co...
Background:
European foulbrood is a significant bacterial brood disease of Apis sp. and can cause severe and devastating damages in beekeeping operations. Nevertheless, the epidemiology of its causative agent Melissococcus plutonius has been begun to uncover but the underlying mechanisms of infection and cause of disease still is not well understoo...
The increasing loss of honey bee colonies is assumed to be caused by various factors such as habitat degradation, parasites, pathogens, or the exposure to environmental pollutants like pesticides in agriculture practice. Different bee-related products like honey, bee bread, wax, and pollen can be contaminated by pesticides and some of them might af...
Pollinating bees are stressed by highly variable environmental conditions, malnutrition, parasites and pathogens, but may also by getting in contact with microorganisms or entomopathogenic nematodes that are used to control plant pests and diseases. While foraging for water, food, or nest material social as well as solitary bees have direct contact...
Environmental monitoring involves the quantification of microscopic cells and particles such as algae, plant cells, pollen, or fungal spores. Traditional methods using conventional microscopy require expert knowledge, are time‐intensive and not well‐suited for automated high throughput. Multispectral imaging flow cytometry (MIFC) allows measurement...
In the European honey bee (Apis mellifera), the olfactory system is essential for foraging and intraspecific communication via pheromones. Honey bees are equipped with a large repertoire of olfactory receptors belonging to the insect odorant receptor (OR) family. Previous studies have indicated that the transcription level of a few OR types includi...
To avoid potential adverse side effects of chemical plant protection products, microbial pest control products (MPCP) are commonly applied as biological alternatives. This study aimed to evaluate the biosafety of a MPCP with the active organism Bacillus thuringiensis ssp. aizawai (strain: ABTS-1857). An in-hive feeding experiment was performed unde...
This mini-review aims at raising the interest in contractile phage tail-like particles (CPTPs) of bacteria as an efficient and pest-specific alternative to conventional chemical pesticides in agriculture, horticulture and forestry. CPTPs are used by various bacteria in diverse environments for interbacterial competition or for manipulation of eukar...
Honey adulteration generates low quality products on the market. The study aimed to find a simple, specific and less time-consuming method than standard melissopalynology only, for monitoring honey botanical and geographical origin. In this study 42 honey samples from different sources were examined for their botanical origin by using melissopalyno...
Post-surgery liver failure is a serious complication for patients after extended partial hepatectomies (ePHx). Previously, we demonstrated in the pig model that transplantation of mesenchymal stromal cells (MSC) improved circulatory maintenance and supported multi-organ functions after 70% liver resection. Mechanisms behind the beneficial MSC effect...
Post-surgery liver failure is a serious complication for patients after extended partial hepatectomies (ePHx). Previously, we demonstrated in the pig model that transplantation of mesenchymal stromal cells (MSC) improved circulatory maintenance and supported multi-organ functions after 70% liver resection. Mechanisms behind the beneficial MSC effec...
Honey bees (Apis mellifera) perform pollination service for many agricultural crops and
contribute to the global economy in agriculture and bee products. However, honey bee health is an ongoing concern, as illustrated by persistent local population decline, caused by some severe bee diseases (e.g., nosemosis, AFB, EFB, chalkbrood). Three natural re...
European foulbrood (EFB), caused by Melissococcus plutonius, is a globally distributed bacterial brood disease affecting Apis mellifera larvae. There is some evidence, even if under debate, that spreading of the disease within the colony is prevented by worker bees performing hygienic behaviour, including detection and removal of infected larvae. O...
Nosema ceranae is a ubiquitous microsporidian pathogen infecting the midgut of honey bees. The infection causes bee nosemosis, a disease associated with malnutrition, dysentery, and lethargic behavior, and results in considerable economic losses in apiculture. The use of a rapid, sensitive, and inexpensive DNA-based molecular detection method assis...
Bees are essential pollinators and their protection is relevant to secure biodiversity and agricultural production. MonViA-project members and partners collaborate in monitoring projects to develop effective policies to support biodiversity in Germany. In the current case-study,
the impact of climate on honey bee population performance was assessed...
Paenibacillus larvae is the etiological agent of American Foulbrood (AFB), a highly contagious brood disease of honey bees (Apis mellifera). AFB requires mandatory reporting to the veterinary authority in many countries and until now four genotypes, P. larvae ERIC I-IV, have been identified. We isolated a new genotype, ERIC V, from a Spanish honey...
Honey proteins are essential bee nutrients and antimicrobials that protect honey from microbial spoilage. The majority of the honey proteome includes bee-secreted peptides and proteins, produced in specialised glands; however, bees need to forage actively for nitrogen sources and other basic elements of protein synthesis. Nectar and pollen of diffe...
Aging is a risk factor for adipose tissue dysfunction, which is associated with inflammatory innate immune mechanisms. Since the adipose tissue/liver axis contributes to hepatosteatosis, we sought to determine age-related adipose tissue dysfunction in the context of the activation of the innate immune system fostering fatty liver phenotypes. Using...
The genome of the western honeybee (Apis mellifera) harbors nine transcribed major royal jelly protein genes (mrjp1‐9) which originate from a single‐copy precursor via gene duplication. The first MRJP was identified in royal jelly, a secretion of the bees' hypopharyngeal glands that is used by young worker bees, called nurses, to feed developing la...
Several environmental factors (e.g. food source, pesticides, toxins, parasites and pathogens) influence development and maturation of honey bees (Apis mellifera). Therefore, controlled experimental conditions are mandatory when studying the impact of environmental factors: particularly food quality and nutrient consumption. In vitro larval rearing...
Honey bees directly affect and are influenced by their local environment, in terms of food sources, pollinator densities, pathogen and toxin exposure and climate. Currently, there is a lack of studies analyzing these data with Geographic Information Systems (GIS) to investigate spatial relationships with the environment. Particularly for inter-colo...
Social insects have evolved enormous capacities to collectively build nests and defend their colonies against both predators and pathogens. The latter is achieved by a combination of individual immune responses and sophisticated collective behavioral and organizational disease defenses, that is, social immunity. We investigated how the presence or...
Honey bees are highly prone to infectious diseases, causing colony losses in the worst case. However, they combat diseases through a combination of their innate immune system and social defence behaviours like foraging for health-enhancing plant products (e.g. nectar, pollen and resin). Plant secondary metabolites are not only highly active against...
In Europe, approximately 84% of cultivated crop species depend on insect pollinators, mainly bees. Apis mellifera (the Western honey bee) is the most important commercial pollinator worldwide. The Gram-positive bacterium Melissococcus plutonius is the causative agent of European foulbrood (EFB), a global honey bee brood disease. In order to detect...
European foulbrood is a globally distributed brood disease affecting honey bees. It may lead to lethal infections of larvae and, in severe cases, even to colony collapse. Lately, a profound genetic and phenotypic diversity was documented for the causative agent Melissococcus plutonius. However, experimental work on the impact of diverse M. plutoniu...
Ongoing intensification of rice production systems in Southeast Asia is causing devastating yield losses each year due to rice hoppers. Their continuing development of immunity to resistant rice varieties and pesticide applications further complicates this problem. Hence, there is a high demand for biological control agents of rice hoppers. Egg par...
Honeybees are prone to parasite and pathogen infestations/infections due to their social colony life. Bacterial pathogens in particular lead to destructive infections of the brood. European foulbrood is caused by the bacterium Melissococcus plutonius in combination with several other Gram-positive bacteria (Achromobacter eurydice, Bacillus pumilus,...
On-going intensification of rice production systems in Southeast Asia is causing devastating yield losses each year due to rice hoppers. Continuing development of immunity to resistant rice varieties and pesticide application further complicate this problem. Hence, there is a high demand for biological control agents. Egg parasitoid wasps are among...
Natural honey bee products, especially propolis are well known for their biological properties. However, less well known are the impact of propolis’ single phenolic substances and variation across different landscapes, geographic locations and botanical origins. Here, we determined the chemical composition of propolis samples collected in different...
In patients, acute kidney injury (AKI) is often due to haemodynamic impairment associated with hepatic decompensation following extended liver surgery. Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) supported tissue protection in a variety of acute and chronic diseases, and might hence ameliorate AKI induced by extended liver resection. Here, 70% liver resection wa...
Social insects are the target of numerous pathogens. This is because the high density of closely-related individuals frequently interacting with each other enhances the transmission and establishment of pathogens. This high selective pressure results in the rapid evolution of immune genes, which might be counteracted by a reduced effective populati...
Introduction: Honeybee's self-produced gland secretions and foraged hive products should chiefly facilitate medication and sanitation of the colony. Apis mellifera developed several behavioral defense strategies known as ‘social immunity'. The main nutrients of a bee colony, honey and pollen, contain many plant compounds that prevent microparasite...
Viral diseases are one of the multiple factors associated with honeybee colony losses. Apart from their innate immune system, including the RNAi machinery, honeybees can use secondary plant metabolites to reduce or fully cure pathogen infections. Here, we tested the antiviral potential of Laurus nobilis leaf ethanolic extracts on forager honeybees...
Honeybee collected pollen exhibits high nutritional and pharmaceutical benefits for the human diet and medicine. Pollen’s antioxidant, anti-ageing, anti-inflammatory, anti-atherosclerosis, and cardioprotective activity, depending on the floral origin, are well known. Recent studies proposed that pollen may also be an excellent cancer-fighting candi...
Apitherapy promises cures for diseases in human folk medicine, but the effects of honeybee produced and foraged compounds on bee health are less known. Yet, hive products should chiefly facilitate medication and sanitation of the honeybees themselves rather than other organisms.We here review the impact of both self-produced gland secretions and fo...
Apoptosis is not only pivotal for development, but also for pathogen defence in multicellular organisms. Although numerous intracellular pathogens are known to interfere with the host’s apoptotic machinery to overcome this defence, its importance for host-parasite coevolution has been neglected. We conducted three inoculation experiments to investi...
Hintergrund:
Der Anstieg der Morbiditäts- und Mortalitätsrate im Zusammenhang mit einem akuten Nierenversagen (ANV) konnte für ein weites Spektrum klinischer Komplikationen gezeigt werden. Besonders die akute Schädigung der Niere nach Ischämie-Reperfusion der Leber ist weit verbreitet (40 – 85%). Sie erhöht die Mortalität und Morbidität der Patient...
Acute kidney injury (AKI) bears high morbidity and mortality risks for patients demanding for strong efforts in intensive care units. Often, AKI results from surgical procedures with hemodynamic disturbance like cardiovascular interventions or extended liver resection. The acute kidney injury is characterized by the decrease of the glomerular iltra...
Sociality has many rewards, but can also be dangerous, as high population density and low genetic diversity, common in social insects, is ideal for parasite transmission. Despite this risk, honeybees and other sequenced social insects have far fewer canonical immune genes relative to solitary insects. Social protection from infection, including beh...
The shift from solitary to social behavior is one of the major evolutionary transitions. Primitively eusocial bumblebees are uniquely placed to illuminate the evolution of highly eusocial insect societies. Bumblebees are also invaluable natural and agricultural pollinators, and there is widespread concern over recent population declines in some spe...
The domesticated silkworm Bombyx mori L. comprises a large number of geographical breeds and hybrid lines. Knowing the genetic structure of those may provide information to improve the conservation of commercial lines by estimating inbreeding over generations and the consequences of excessive use of those lineages. Here, we analyzed the genetic div...
Honeybees, Apis mellifera, have several prophylactic disease defense strategies, including the foraging of antibiotic, antifungal, and antiviral compounds of plant products. Hence, honey and pollen contain many compounds that prevent fungal and bacterial growth and inhibit viral replication. Since these compounds are also fed to the larvae by nurse...
Honeybee colonies offer an excellent environment for microbial pathogen development. The highest virulent, colony killing, bacterial agents are Paenibacillus larvae causing American foulbrood (AFB), and European foulbrood (EFB) associated bacteria. Besides the innate immune defense, honeybees evolved behavioral defenses to combat infections. Foragi...
To date five different theories compete in explaining the biological mechanisms of senescence or ageing in invertebrates.
Physiological, genetical, and environmental mechanisms form the image of ageing in individuals and groups. Social insects,
especially the honeybee Apis mellifera, present exceptional model systems to study developmentally relate...
In the honeybee, Apis mellifera, the queen larvae are fed with a diet exclusively composed of royal jelly (RJ), a secretion of the hypopharyngeal gland of young worker bees that nurse the brood. Up to 15% of RJ is composed of proteins, the nine most abundant of which have been termed major royal jelly proteins (MRJPs). Although it is widely accepte...
Both climatic and geographic factors play an important role for the biogeographic distribution of species. The Carpathian mountain ridge has been suggested as a natural geographic divide between the two honeybee subspecies Apis mellifera carnica and A. m. macedonica. We sampled one worker from one colony each at 138 traditional apiaries located acr...
Background
In the honeybee Apis mellifera, female larvae destined to become a queen are fed with royal jelly, a secretion of the hypopharyngeal glands of young nurse bees that rear the brood. The protein moiety of royal jelly comprises mostly major royal jelly proteins (MRJPs) of which the coding genes (mrjp1-9) have been identified on chromosome 1...