First detection and prevalence of Apis mellifera filamentous virus in Apis mellifera and Varroa destructor in the Republic of Korea

Abstract

Apis mellifera filamentous virus (AmFV) is a double-stranded DNA virus that infects Apis mellifera bees. To our knowledge, this is the first comprehensive study aiming to detect and analyse the genetic diversity and prevalence of AmFV in Korean honeybee colonies. Phylogenetic analysis based on baculovirus repeat open reading frame–N gene (Bro–N) sequences revealed that AmFV isolates from the Republic of Korea (ROK) fell into two distinct lineages, with genetic origins in Switzerland and China, with nucleotide similarities of 98.3% and 98.2%, respectively. Our prevalence analysis demonstrated a noteworthy infection rate of AmFV in 545 honeybee colonies, reaching 33.09% in 2022 and increasing to 44.90% by 2023. Intriguingly, we also detected AmFV in Varroa destructor mites, highlighting their potential role as vectors and carriers of AmFV. The presence of AmFV was correlated with an increased infection rate of sacbrood virus, deformed wing virus, Lake Sinai virus 2, black queen cell virus, and Nosema ceranae in honeybee colonies. These findings provide valuable insight into the prevalence and potential transmission mechanisms of AmFV in honeybee colonies in the ROK. The results of this study may be instrumental in the effective management of viral infections in honeybee apiaries.