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Qualitative pollen analysis of honey from bees kept in Czech Republic
VALEŠKOVÁ, Denisa
Pollen analysis is the determination of a pollen grains in a honey sediment. The main goal of the thesis was to qualitatively assess a honey from the bees breed in different parts of the Czech republic and to evaluate, if there are any differences in bee grazing between a bees breed in the city and a bees breed in the countryside. Investigate, if a pollen is associated with the colony diseases and higher susceptibility to the pesticides from the field crop. It was found that the dominant plant taxon were canola and fruit trees. In the urban centers was high concentration of the pollen grains from a woody plants, which bees probably visit in local parks. Rural areas were miscellaneous species with high concentration of the herbaceous plants that are part of the meadows.
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Inhibition of the etiological agent of American foulbrood disease using selected essential oils
ZÁLABSKÁ, Adéla
Americal foulbrood disease, caused by etiological agent Paenibacillus larvae is serious disease which affects honey bee that is prohibited to treat with antibiotic in the Czech Republic. If the disease occurs in hive, it is a legal requirement to burn the hive. Essential oils have antimicrobial aktivity and their use can help fighting this dangerous disease. The aim of the bachelor thesis was to verify the bactericidal effect of selected essential oils on the causative agent of the americal foulbrood disease P. Larvae. Another stated aim was to determine the minimum inhibitory and bactericidal concentrations of the selected essential oils. A total of 11 essential oils were used and evaluated both alone and in combination with other essential oils. The evaluation was carried oud on microtiter plates using spectophotometer and on agar medium in petri dishes. The most effective essential oil was garlic oil (Allium sativum bulb oil), which had minimum and bactericidal concentration values of 32 ?l/mg. Other very effective plant essential oils include cinnamon essential oil (Cinnamomum zeylanicum bark oil). The least effective essential oils are carrot oil (Daucus carota sativa seed oil), thyme oils (Thymus serpyllum oil, Thymus vulgaris flower/leaf oil) or oregano oil (Origanum vulgare).
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Insect pollinators issues and alternative methods of control of fungal, bacterial, and parasitic diseases of bees
MRÁZ, Petr
This Ph.D. thesis is focused on the importance of insect pollinators and pointed out to their loss due to intensive agriculture. Great attention is paid to the honey bee as the main pollinator, especially to the issue of quality nutrition of bee colonies in connection with the support of detoxification of pesticides. Furthermore, the main effort is devoted to alternative possibilities of control of selected bee pathogens and research of their prevalence in the Czech Republic. The work is divided into two main parts: a detailed background research and an experimental part consisting of six subchapters with results from my own research studies. The first study deals with the effect of pollination on the qualitative and quantitative yield parameters of honeysuckle. Several pollination variants were tested and the best result in all monitored parameters was achieved by the pollination with natural pollinators. Variants of manual pollination and without pollination caused uneven maturation of fruits and lower yields. Furthermore, the diversity and abundance of pollinators in the vicinity of this crop were observed and the most suitable pollinators identified which appear to be bumblebees and the honey bee. The second study deals with the impact of agricultural intensity on the diversity and abundance of pollinators in the landscape. Localities with organic and conventional management regimes were compared. Significantly higher diversity and abundance of pollinators was recorded in the locality managed by organic farming. In addition, the contamination load of pesticide residues in bee's body was also monitored. Residues of several pesticides were detected at the site with conventional agriculture, while none of them were detected at the site with organic farming. The third study examines the effect of nutrition, specifically phenolic substances, on the ability of bees to detoxify the pesticide to which they have been exposed. In the experiment, the bees in the cages were fed with a mixture of selected polyphenols, commonly found in pollen, and the pesticide thiacloprid. Mortality and daily feed consumption were monitored for 14 days, and the expression level of detoxification genes was analyzed at specified intervals. Phenolic substances have been shown to have a positive effect on the lifespan of intoxicated bees, as well as higher feed consumption, which may indicate an increased need for these substances. In contrast, the increased expression of detoxification genes was not confirmed. Other studies focus on honey bee pathogens. One of them monitors the occurrence and prevalence of selected major bee pathogens in the Czech Republic and compares different types of habitats, such as urban areas, agriculturally intensively cultivated areas and protected natural areas. Surprisingly, the most often detected pathogen was Lotmaria passim. From the viral diseases, the highest rate of occurrence had DWV complex and ABPV. In general, more eukaryotic pathogens were found in cities and agricultural landscapes. On the contrary, more viral diseases were recorded in the protected natural area. The fifth subchapter consists of 4 publications and deals with the use of essential oils to control the Varroa destructor mite and the entomopathogenic fungus Ascosphaera apis. The first publication compares the growth and development of the fungus A. apis on different culture media and proposes a new medium with the addition of bee brood, on which the greatest sporulation was recorded. Another 2 publications deal with the fungicidal effect of selected essential oils in laboratory conditions. The best results were shown by essential oils of thyme, cedar wood, cloves and cinnamon. The fourth publication deals with the acaricidal effect of selected essential oils on the V. destructor mites and at the same time evaluate the toxicity of these oils to adult bees. Based on these results, essential oils with the highest LD50 to bees / LD50 to mites ratio (sele
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Honey bee - didactic model for environmental education in preschool education
KOŠNEROVÁ, Eva
Presented bachelor thesis is focused on science education of preschool children with the aim to apply educational activities. The introductory part of the thesis defines the basis of. The importance of the stay of preschool children in the outdoor environment is emphasized. The main task of this thesis is to present ideas for educational activities for preschool education, which are focused on the honey bee. Each performed activity contains detailed description of the activity, its own implementation and reflection.
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Morphological and molecular characterization of yeasts from the genus \kur{Zygosaccharomyces} associated with honey bees
JAVŮRKOVÁ, Petra
Beekeeping is one of the oldest fields of human activity. A key role in this field is played by the honey bee (Apis mellifera), which is also an important pollinator of agricultural crops and wild plants. Although bees have evolved defense mechanisms during their long evolution against a variety of external influences, bee´s existence is currently threatened by several factors. An interesting way for increasing the immunity of the bee colony seems to be the honey bee microbiome. Honey bee microbiome is the main focus of this thesis, with a practical part focused on yeasts of the genus Zygosaccharomyces. Twenty samples/strains of the yeasts were isolated from the intestines of bee larvae, pollen baskets, and pollen on selected culture media. Based on sequencing of the D1/D2 region of the large ribosomal DNA subunit, three species of the genus Zygosaccharomyces were identified in these twenty samples: Z. rouxii, Z. favi and Z. mellis. Four pairs of primers were also designed within the ITS region and can be an alternative or complement to the molecular characterization of isolated yeast strains based on another marker region of DNA. All primers were evaluated as specific for Z. rouxii species. Using one pair of primers, the part of ITS region was also amplified in the species Z. mellis. According to this, these primers could also be used to identify this species as well. The last part of this work is the determination of ergosterol production in yeast biomass by HPLC. Ergosterol is produced by the Zygosaccharomyces yeasts and it plays an important role in the development of the bee brood. It was found in this thesis, that ergosterol levels in yeasts are not uniform and also do not correlate with biomass production. The highest production of ergosterol was found in the species Z. mellis, which is a sample obtained from pollen. The outputs of this work provide a new perspective on the colonization of the intestinal microbiota of bees and also offer potential significance for the future, especially in the application of yeast as a source of ergosterol for developing larvae.
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Vliv přírodních toxinů na včelu medonosnou
KAINZOVÁ, Klára
The aim of this bachelor thesis was to describe the effect of honeybee venom on the activity of digestive enzymes (amylases, proteases, lipases), AKHs production in CNS, and level of nutrients (lipids, proteins, glycides) and vitellogenin in haemolymph of the honeybee Apis mellifera workers. Crude venom was applied into the honeybee body 24 hours before determination of the above mentioned characteristics. Results showed that the bee venom reduced the AKH level in CNS, increased activity of digestive enzymes in gut, and increased level of vitellogenin in haemolymph. Effect of the venom on nutrient level in haemolymph was variable - level of lipids and carbohydrates was enhanced, while level of proteins reduced.
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Monitoring of SBV, SBPV and ABPV viruses in colonies in the Czech Republic
ZLÁMALOVÁ, Aneta
In this diploma thesis I deal with one of the current topics, namely the worldwide decline of bee colonies. The honey bee faces a number of factors that affect its health, condition and viability. These factors include, but are not limited to, bee viruses, many of which cause bag fetal virus or bee paralysis, whether acute or slow. Due to viral diseases, infected bees cannot play their role in the hive and the growing number of affected bees can negatively affect the entire bee colony.
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The differences in the virome of different populations of honey bee (Apis mellifera)
Kadlečková, Dominika ; Tachezy, Ruth (advisor) ; Votýpka, Jan (referee)
European honey bee (Apis mellifera) is major pollinator for agriculture and vital for food production. Large number of viruses infecting A. mellifera have been discovered over the years, but it isn't yet known if they are pathogenic for their host. However, presence of non-viral pathogens like Varroa destructor can greatly increase their virulence and have fatal consequences for the colony. The aim of this study was to test and verify robustness of the method for virome detection on healthy honey bees from the Czech Republic. Last but not least we aimed to detect non-viral parasites and correlate their presence with detected viruses. We have successfully identified large number of viral sequences from different viral families. Viral composition was found to be influenced mainly by colony from where the honey bees were collected. That was mainly given by a large amount of bacteriophages in the samples. However, analysis of individual viruses, known to infect honey bee, indicated that viral prevalence and viral loads of specific viruses is quite different among individual honey bees from the same colony. Interestingly we were able to find highly diverse Lake Sinai viruses. We were able to observe correlations either between individual viruses or viral other non-viral pathogens. Further analysis is...
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Beekeeping Exposition of the Prague Botanical Garden and its Application in the Process of Education
Fialová, Alžběta ; Skýbová, Jana (advisor) ; Hanel, Lubomír (referee)
Beekeeping Exposition of the Prague Botanical Garden and its Application in the Process of Education This bachelor thesis deals with the topic of a beekeeping exposition of the Prague Botanical Garden currently in a phase of planning. It is divided in two parts. In the first part, the honey bee (Apis mellifera) is described - its anatomy, ethology, diseases and bee products. In the last chapter of the theoretical part an example of a possible use of a traditional artificial hive in primary school education is introduced. The second part is dedicated to the beekeeping exposition itself and includes a questionnaire survey, the aim of which is to find out to what extent the topic of the honey bee is dealt with in the curriculum; whether schools organize any events related to the topic such as discussion forums or educational excursions to eco-centres; or whether schools would be interested in the planned exposition as well as available materials such as worksheets. Furthermore, the planned exposition is described and its possible application in the process of education is suggested. Later, significant plants suitable for beekeeping, which had been mentioned in the description of the exposition proposal, are thoroughly described in a well-arranged chart. At the end of the thesis, a worksheet for lower...
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The differences in the virome of different populations of honey bee (Apis mellifera)
Kadlečková, Dominika ; Tachezy, Ruth (advisor) ; Votýpka, Jan (referee)
European honey bee (Apis mellifera) is major pollinator for agriculture and vital for food production. Large number of viruses infecting A. mellifera have been discovered over the years, but it isn't yet known if they are pathogenic for their host. However, presence of non-viral pathogens like Varroa destructor can greatly increase their virulence and have fatal consequences for the colony. The aim of this study was to test and verify robustness of the method for virome detection on healthy honey bees from the Czech Republic. Last but not least we aimed to detect non-viral parasites and correlate their presence with detected viruses. We have successfully identified large number of viral sequences from different viral families. Viral composition was found to be influenced mainly by colony from where the honey bees were collected. That was mainly given by a large amount of bacteriophages in the samples. However, analysis of individual viruses, known to infect honey bee, indicated that viral prevalence and viral loads of specific viruses is quite different among individual honey bees from the same colony. Interestingly we were able to find highly diverse Lake Sinai viruses. We were able to observe correlations either between individual viruses or viral other non-viral pathogens. Further analysis is...
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