{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2025,10,10]],"date-time":"2025-10-10T00:49:32Z","timestamp":1760057372394,"version":"build-2065373602"},"reference-count":46,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"2","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2025,2,4]],"date-time":"2025-02-04T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1738627200000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Veterinary Sciences"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Stonebrood (Aspergillus sp.) is a rare, poorly described disease of the Western honey bee (Apis mellifera) that can affect adult bees and brood. This study describes the pathogenesis using artificially reared pathogen-free Apis mellifera larvae, experimentally infected (5 \u00d7 102 spores\/larva) with Aspergillus flavus. Between days 1 and 5 p.i. (larval age 4 until 8 days), five uninfected control larvae, up to five infected living larvae, and up to five infected dead larvae were examined macroscopically. Subsequently, the larvae were photographed, fixed (4% formaldehyde), and processed for histological examination (hematoxylin\u2013eosin stain, Grocott silvering). Sections were digitized, measured (area, thickness), and statistically analyzed. In total, 19 of the 43 collected infected larvae showed signs of infection (germinating spores\/fungal mycelium): dead larvae (from day 2 p.i.) showed clear histological and macroscopic signs of infection, while larvae collected alive (from day 1 p.i.) were only locally affected. Infected larvae were significantly smaller (day 2 p.i.: p &lt; 0.001, 4 p.i.: p &lt; 0.01, 5 p.i.: p &lt; 0.01) than uninfected larvae (control group). Our study shows that the pathogenesis of stonebrood is characterized by a short period between Aspergillus germination and the onset of disease (about one day), and a rapid larval death.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/vetsci12020124","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2025,2,4]],"date-time":"2025-02-04T05:13:43Z","timestamp":1738646023000},"page":"124","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["Stonebrood Disease\u2014Histomorphological Changes in Honey Bee Larvae (Apis mellifera) Experimentally Infected with Aspergillus flavus"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"12","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0009-0003-5692-5301","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Tammo","family":"von Knoblauch","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"LABOKLIN GmbH & Co.KG, Labor f\u00fcr Klinische Diagnostik, Steubenstra\u00dfe 4, 97688 Bad Kissingen, Germany"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-2044-2274","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Annette B.","family":"Jensen","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Plant and Environmental Sciences Section for Organismal Biology, University of Copenhagen, Thorvaldsensvej 40, 1871 Frederiksberg C, Denmark"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-8037-3223","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Christoph K. W.","family":"M\u00fclling","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Institute of Veterinary Anatomy, Histology and Embryology, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Leipzig University, An den Tierkliniken 43, 04103 Leipzig, Germany"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Anton","family":"Heusinger","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"LABOKLIN GmbH & Co.KG, Labor f\u00fcr Klinische Diagnostik, Steubenstra\u00dfe 4, 97688 Bad Kissingen, Germany"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-4601-1480","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Heike","family":"Aupperle-Lellbach","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"LABOKLIN GmbH & Co.KG, Labor f\u00fcr Klinische Diagnostik, Steubenstra\u00dfe 4, 97688 Bad Kissingen, Germany"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-7906-4530","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Elke","family":"Genersch","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Molecular Microbiology and Bee Diseases, Institute for Bee Research, Friedrich-Engels-Str. 32, 16540 Hohen Neuendorf, Germany"},{"name":"Institute of Microbiology and Epizootics, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Freie Universit\u00e4t Berlin, Robert-von-Ostertag-Str. 7, 14163 Berlin, Germany"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2025,2,4]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","unstructured":"Burnside, C.E. 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