Deformed wing virus type A, a major honey bee pathogen, is vectored by the mite Varroa destructor in a non-propagative manner

Posada-Florez, Francisco; Childers, Anna K.; Heerman, Matthew C.; Egekwu, Noble I.; Cook, Steven C.; Chen, Yanping; Evans, Jay D.; Ryabov, Eugene V.

doi:10.1038/s41598-019-47447-3

Cited by 93 publications

(107 citation statements)

References 45 publications

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“…In light of these results, it appears as if controlled laboratory experiments are required before drawing general conclusions on the role of predators/scavengers as alternative hosts of any honeybee viruses, i.e., the timing of the last virus-infected food consumption should be known. Similarly, the detection of the negative-sense strand in V. destructor suggested DWV replication in the mites until recently, when a non-propagative manner DWV transmission has been proposed [72].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 97%

Foodborne Transmission of Deformed Wing Virus to Ants (Myrmica rubra)

Schläppi

Lattrell

Yañez

et al. 2019

Insects

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Virus host shifts occur frequently, but the whole range of host species and the actual transmission pathways are often poorly understood. Deformed wing virus (DWV), an RNA virus described from honeybees (Apis mellifera), has been shown to have a broad host range. Since ants are often scavenging on dead honeybees, foodborne transmission of these viruses may occur. However, the role of the ant Myrmica rubra as an alternative host is not known and foodborne transmission to ants has not been experimentally addressed yet. Here, we show with a 16-week feeding experiment that foodborne transmission enables DWV type-A and -B to infect M. rubra and that these ants may serve as a virus reservoir. However, the titers of both plus- and minus-sense viral RNA strands decreased over time. Since the ants were fed with highly virus-saturated honeybee pupae, this probably resulted in initial viral peaks, then approaching lower equilibrium titers in infected individuals later. Since DWV infections were also found in untreated field-collected M. rubra colonies, our results support the wide host range of DWV and further suggest foodborne transmission as a so far underestimated spread mechanism.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 97%

Foodborne Transmission of Deformed Wing Virus to Ants (Myrmica rubra)

Schläppi

Lattrell

Yañez

et al. 2019

Insects

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“…Such tagged DWV-like viruses could be an excellent tool to advance the understanding of the mechanisms of vectoring of DWV-like viruses by the Varroa mites [32] and the host range of DWV-like viruses in different bee species. Currently, there are conflicting reports on whether DWV-like viruses replicate in their Varroa mite vector [33][34][35][36] and the use of cloned DWV-like viruses expressing egfp during their replication would allow to determine if replication of any variants of DWV-like viruses occur in their Varroa mite vector and pinpoint the Varroa mite cells where replication could take place.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Development of a Honey Bee RNA Virus Vector Based on the Genome of a Deformed Wing Virus

Ryabov

Christmon

Heerman

et al. 2020

Viruses

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We developed a honey bee RNA-virus vector based on the genome of a picorna-like Deformed wing virus (DWV), the main viral pathogen of the honey bee (Apis mellifera). To test the potential of DWV to be utilized as a vector, the 717 nt sequence coding for the enhanced green fluorescent protein (eGFP), flanked by the peptides targeted by viral protease, was inserted into an infectious cDNA clone of DWV in-frame between the leader protein and the virus structural protein VP2 genes. The in vitro RNA transcripts from egfp-tagged DWV cDNA clones were infectious when injected into honey bee pupae. Stable DWV particles containing genomic RNA of the recovered DWV with egfp inserts were produced, as evidenced by cesium chloride density gradient centrifugation. These particles were infectious to honey bee pupae when injected intra-abdominally. Fluorescent microscopy showed GFP expression in the infected cells and Western blot analysis demonstrated accumulation of free eGFP rather than its fusions with DWV leader protein (LP) and/or viral protein (VP) 2. Analysis of the progeny egfp-tagged DWV showed gradual accumulation of genome deletions for egfp, providing estimates for the rate of loss of a non-essential gene an insect RNA virus genome during natural infection.

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“…Moreover, these two DWV strains differ markedly in their interaction with V. destructor. Notably, DWV-B is capable of replicating in the mite [69,70], while DWV-A is not [71,72]. The higher virulence of DWV-B when transmitted by the mite to pupae [65] makes the brood more susceptible to detection by adult bees and may therefore encourage its removal from the colony by social immunity, similar to other highly virulent Varroa-transmitted viruses [73].…”

Section: Symptoms Of Viral Infections Of the Honey Beementioning

confidence: 99%

Diversity and Global Distribution of Viruses of the Western Honey Bee, Apis mellifera

Beaurepaire

Piot

Doublet

et al. 2020

Insects

182

161

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In the past centuries, viruses have benefited from globalization to spread across the globe, infecting new host species and populations. A growing number of viruses have been documented in the western honey bee, Apis mellifera. Several of these contribute significantly to honey bee colony losses. This review synthetizes the knowledge of the diversity and distribution of honey-bee-infecting viruses, including recent data from high-throughput sequencing (HTS). After presenting the diversity of viruses and their corresponding symptoms, we surveyed the scientific literature for the prevalence of these pathogens across the globe. The geographical distribution shows that the most prevalent viruses (deformed wing virus, sacbrood virus, black queen cell virus and acute paralysis complex) are also the most widely distributed. We discuss the ecological drivers that influence the distribution of these pathogens in worldwide honey bee populations. Besides the natural transmission routes and the resulting temporal dynamics, global trade contributes to their dissemination. As recent evidence shows that these viruses are often multihost pathogens, their spread is a risk for both the beekeeping industry and the pollination services provided by managed and wild pollinators.

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Deformed wing virus type A, a major honey bee pathogen, is vectored by the mite Varroa destructor in a non-propagative manner

Cited by 93 publications

References 45 publications

Foodborne Transmission of Deformed Wing Virus to Ants (Myrmica rubra)

Foodborne Transmission of Deformed Wing Virus to Ants (Myrmica rubra)

Development of a Honey Bee RNA Virus Vector Based on the Genome of a Deformed Wing Virus

Diversity and Global Distribution of Viruses of the Western Honey Bee, Apis mellifera

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