Bees under stress: sublethal doses of a neonicotinoid pesticide and pathogens interact to elevate honey bee mortality across the life cycle.

Microbial pathogens are thought to have a profound impact on insect populations. Honey bees are suffering from elevated colony losses in the northern hemisphere possibly because of a variety of emergent microbial pathogens, with which pesticides may interact to exacerbate their impacts. To reveal such potential interactions, we administered at sublethal and field realistic doses one neonicotinoid pesticide (thiacloprid) and two common microbial pathogens, the invasive microsporidian Nosema ceranae and black queen cell virus (BQCV), individually to larval and adult honey bees in the laboratory. Through fully crossed experiments in which treatments were administered singly or in combination, we found an additive interaction between BQCV and thiacloprid on host larval survival likely because the pesticide significantly elevated viral loads. In adult bees, two synergistic interactions increased individual mortality: between N. ceranae and BQCV, and between N. ceranae and thiacloprid. The combination of two pathogens had a more profound effect on elevating adult mortality than N. ceranae plus thiacloprid. Common microbial pathogens appear to be major threats to honey bees, while sublethal doses of pesticide may enhance their deleterious effects on honey bee larvae and adults. It remains an open question as to whether these interactions can affect colony survival.

Atlas of genetics and cytogenetics in oncology and haematology in 2013.

The Atlas of Genetics and Cytogenetics in Oncology and Haematology (http://AtlasGeneticsOncology.org) is a peer-reviewed internet journal/encyclopaedia/database focused on genes implicated in cancer, cytogenetics and clinical entities in cancer and cancer-prone hereditary diseases. The main goal of the Atlas is to provide review articles that describe complementary topics, namely, genes, genetic abnormalities, histopathology, clinical diagnoses and a large iconography. This description, which was historically based on karyotypic abnormalities and in situ hybridization (fluorescence in situ hybridization) techniques, now benefits from comparative genomic hybridization and massive sequencing, uncovering a tremendous amount of genetic rearrangements. As the Atlas combines different types of information (genes, genetic abnormalities, histopathology, clinical diagnoses and external links), its content is currently unique. The Atlas is a cognitive tool for fundamental and clinical research and has developed into an encyclopaedic work. In clinical practice, it contributes to the cytogenetic diagnosis and may guide treatment decision making, particularly regarding rare diseases (because they are numerous and are frequently encountered). Readers as well as the authors of the Atlas are researchers and/or clinicians.