Cold case: The disappearance of Egypt bee virus, a fourth distinct master strain of deformed wing virus linked to honeybee mortality in 1970's Egypt

Sammanfattning

In 1977, a sample of diseased adult honeybees (Apis mellifera) from Egypt was found to contain large amounts of a previously unknown virus, Egypt bee virus, which was subsequently shown to be serologically related to deformed wing virus (DWV). By sequencing the original isolate, we demonstrate that Egypt bee virus is in fact a fourth unique, major variant of DWV (DWV-D): more closely related to DWV-C than to either DWV-A or DWV-B. DWV-A and DWV-B are the most common DWV variants worldwide due to their close relationship and transmission by Varroa destructor. However, we could not find any trace of DWV-D in several hundred RNA sequencing libraries from a worldwide selection of honeybee, varroa and bumblebee samples. This means that DWV-D has either become extinct, been replaced by other DWV variants better adapted to varroa-mediated transmission, or persists only in a narrow geographic or host range, isolated from common bee and beekeeping trade routes.

Nyckelord

Egypt bee virus; Deformed wing virus; Master strain; Varroa destructor; Honeybee; Apis mellifera; Western blot; RNA sequencing; Bioinformatic screening

Publicerad i

Virology Journal
2022, volym: 19, nummer: 1, artikelnummer: 12
Utgivare: BMC

SLU författare

• Rodrigues de Miranda, Joachim

  • Institutionen för ekologi, Sveriges lantbruksuniversitet
    

• Granberg, Fredrik

  • Institutionen för husdjurens biovetenskaper, Sveriges lantbruksuniversitet
    

• Kaden, Rene

  • Institutionen för ekologi, Sveriges lantbruksuniversitet
    

• Milbrath, Meghan

  • Institutionen för ekologi, Sveriges lantbruksuniversitet
    

UKÄ forskningsämne

Ekologi

Publikationens identifierare

• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1186/s12985-022-01740-2

Permanent länk till denna sida (URI)

https://res.slu.se/id/publ/115935