Antifungal Effects of Lactobacillus casei, Lactobacillus acidophilus and Bifidobacterium bifidum on the Ascospharea apis Causative Agent of Honey bee Chalkbrood Disease

Honey bee Chalkbrood disease is a fungal disease that is distributed in apiaries in the north provinces of Iran. Chalkbrood causative agent is Ascospaharea apis that can survive in colonies products for many years. Many chemical materials are used for control of Chalkbrood disease in honeybee colonies that can make some problems in honeybee consumer products, so  that survival of safe material and methods for honeybee colonies treatments is a important aim in honeybee research field. In this study antifungal effects of the Lactobacillus casei, Lactobacillus acidophilus and Bifidobacterium bifidum on the Ascospharea apis causative agent of honey bee Chalkbrood disease is examined.   Simultaneous inoculation, Agar spot, Confrontation assay, Overlay assay methods are used. LABs are cultured in MRS and A.apis is cultured in SDA media. L.casei and L.acidophilus had moderate effects on the A.apis growth, but B.bifidum and LABs cell free supernatants(CFS) could not  inhibit growth of  this fungi. Results of this survey show that LABs have antifungal activities on the honey bee Chalkbrood disease agent in culture medium and may be used as an alternative method for control of this disease in the honeybee colonies.