Fungus provides powerful medicine in fighting honey bee viruses

A mushroom extract fed to honey bees greatly reduces virus levels, according to a new paper. In field trials, colonies fed mycelium extract showed a 79-fold reduction in deformed wing virus and a 45,000-fold reduction in Lake Sinai virus compared to control colonies. The hope is that the results of this research will help dwindling honey bee colonies fight viruses that are known to play a role in colony collapse disorder.

In field trials, colonies fed mycelium extract from amadou and reishi fungi showed a 79-fold reduction in deformed wing virus and a 45,000-fold reduction in Lake Sinai virus compared to control colonies.

Though it's in the early stages of development, the researchers see great potential in this research.

See:

Paul E. Stamets, Nicholas L. Naeger, Jay D. Evans, Jennifer O. Han, Brandon K. Hopkins, Dawn Lopez, Henry M. Moershel, Regan Nally, David Sumerlin, Alex W. Taylor, Lori M. Carris, Walter S. Sheppard. Extracts of Polypore Mushroom Mycelia Reduce Viruses in Honey Bees. Scientific Reports, 2018; 8 (1) DOI: 10.1038/s41598-018-32194-8

 Posted by Dr. Tim Sandle, Pharmaceutical Microbiology