Replicative DWV type A in Bombus terrestris in Pantelleria island (Sicily, Italy)

The deformed wing virus (DWV) is one of the most common bee pathogens, deemed responsible for both honey bee colony losses and general pollinator decline. That virus may infect both managed and wild bumblebees. In this study, the DWV infection was investigated in 52 free-flying Bombus terrestris (L....

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of Asia-Pacific entomology 2023, 26(4), , pp.1-7
Main Authors: Flaminio, Simone, Nanetti, Antonio, Bortolotti, Laura, Cilia, Giovanni
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
bees
Bombus terrestris
Deformed wing virus
entomology
epidemiology
honey bee colonies
Italy
phylogeny
pollinators
Sicily
viruses
volcanic islands
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Summary:The deformed wing virus (DWV) is one of the most common bee pathogens, deemed responsible for both honey bee colony losses and general pollinator decline. That virus may infect both managed and wild bumblebees. In this study, the DWV infection was investigated in 52 free-flying Bombus terrestris (L., 1758) individuals from Pantelleria. This is a volcanic island in the Sicilian Channel. Of the collected individuals, 59.62% scored positive for DWV, with a mean abundance of 2.97 × 10⁵ ± 1.46 × 10⁶ copies per bee. Active replication of the virus could be demonstrated in all positive samples. All the sequences belonged to DWV type A. However both phylogenetic and pairwise distance analysis indicated a low similarity to Italian and Tunisian strains. Further studies are needed to elucidate the epidemiology of DWV in B. terrestris and the drivers of possible genetic modifications of the virus on Pantelleria island.
ISSN:1226-8615
1876-7990
DOI:10.1016/j.aspen.2023.102123