Atypical Melissococcus plutonius strains: their characteristics, virulence, epidemiology, and mysteries

Melissococcus plutonius is a Gram-positive lanceolate coccus that is the causative agent of European foulbrood, an important bacterial disease of honey bee brood. Although this bacterium was originally described in the early 20th century, a culture method for this bacterium was not established until more than 40 years after its discovery due to its fastidious characteristics, including the requirement for high potassium and anaerobic/microaerophilic conditions. These characteristics were considered to be common to the majority of M. plutonius strains isolated worldwide, and M. plutonius was also thought to be genetically homologous or clonal for years. However, non-fastidious variants of this species (designated as atypical M. plutonius) were very recently identified in Japan. Although the morphology of these unusual strains was similar to that of traditionally well-known M. plutonius strains, atypical strains were genetically very different from most of the M. plutonius strains previously isolated and were highly virulent to individual bee larva. These atypical variants were initially considered to be unique to Japan, but were subsequently found worldwide; however, the frequency of isolation varied from country to country. The background of the discovery of atypical M. plutonius in Japan and current knowledge on atypical strains, including their biochemical and culture characteristics, virulence, detection methods, and global distribution, are described in this review. Remaining mysteries related to atypical M. plutonius and directions for future research are also discussed.