The Effect of Oral Administration of dsRNA on Viral Replication and Mortality in Bombus terrestris

Israeli acute paralysis virus (IAPV), a single-stranded RNA virus, has a worldwide distribution and affects honeybees as well as other important pollinators. IAPV infection in honeybees has been successfully repressed by exploiting the RNA interference (RNAi) pathway of the insect's innate immu...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Viruses 2015-06, Vol.7 (6), p.3172-3185
Main Authors: Piot, Niels, Snoeck, Simon, Vanlede, Maarten, Smagghe, Guy, Meeus, Ivan
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Administration, Oral
Animals
Antiviral Agents - administration & dosage
Apis mellifera
Bees
Bees - virology
Bombus terrestris
bumblebee
Domestication
dsRNA
IAPV
immune response
Infections
Invertebrates
Mortality
Oral administration
Pathogens
Plant reproduction
Pollinators
RNA Viruses - drug effects
RNA Viruses - physiology
RNA, Double-Stranded - administration & dosage
Transmission electron microscopy
Treatment Outcome
Viral Tropism
virus
Virus Replication - drug effects
Viruses
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Summary:Israeli acute paralysis virus (IAPV), a single-stranded RNA virus, has a worldwide distribution and affects honeybees as well as other important pollinators. IAPV infection in honeybees has been successfully repressed by exploiting the RNA interference (RNAi) pathway of the insect's innate immune response with virus-specific double stranded RNA (dsRNA). Here we investigated the effect of IAPV infection in the bumblebee Bombus terrestris and its tissue tropism. B. terrestris is a common pollinator of wild flowers in Europe and is used for biological pollination in agriculture. Infection experiments demonstrated a similar pathology and tissue tropism in bumblebees as reported for honeybees. The effect of oral administration of virus-specific dsRNA was examined and resulted in an effective silencing of the virus, irrespective of the length. Interestingly, we observed that non-specific dsRNA was also efficient against IAPV. However further study is needed to clarify the precise mechanism behind this effect. Finally we believe that our data are indicative of the possibility to use dsRNA for a broad range viral protection in bumblebees.
ISSN:1999-4915
1999-4915
DOI:10.3390/v7062765