Evidence of circulating recombinants between deformed wing virus and Varroa destructor virus-1 in honey bee colonies in Türkiye

Deformed wing virus (DWV), which is an important honey bee virus transmitted by , causes colony losses in honey bee colonies. This study aimed to investigate the prevalence and genetic diversity of DWV in honey bees in Türkiye and to determine the role of in the transmission of the genetic variants...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Bulletin of entomological research 2024-10, Vol.114 (5), p.631-641
Main Authors: Şevik, Murat, Zerek, Aykut, Erdem, İpek, Yaman, Mehmet
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Animals
Bees - parasitology
Bees - virology
Genetic Variation
Phylogeny
Recombination, Genetic
RNA Viruses - genetics
RNA Viruses - isolation & purification
Varroidae - virology
Citations: Items that this one cites
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:Deformed wing virus (DWV), which is an important honey bee virus transmitted by , causes colony losses in honey bee colonies. This study aimed to investigate the prevalence and genetic diversity of DWV in honey bees in Türkiye and to determine the role of in the transmission of the genetic variants of DWV. Honey bee samples were collected from 62 apiaries, by simple random sampling, during March 2022 and April 2023. The presence of in collected bee samples was examined using a stereo microscope. Real-time RT-PCR was used for the detection of DWV-A and DWV-B ( virus-1 (VDV-1)) viruses. Genetic characterisation of the positive samples was conducted by sequencing polyprotein genomic region. Considering the infestation rate of 3% as relevant, out of the 62 apiaries examined, 17 (27.4%) were positive. However, DWV-A and VDV-1 specific RNA was not detected in samples. VDV-1 specific RNA was detected in 6.5% (4/62) of the apiaries, whereas DWV-A was not detected in the sampled apiaries. Phylogenetic analysis showed that isolates detected in this study were located in a separate cluster from previously characterised DWV-A and VDV-1 isolates. According to RDP4 and GARD analyses, DWV-VDV-1 recombination breakpoints were detected in field isolates. To the best our knowledge, this is the first report of the presence of VDV-1-DWV recombinants in Türkiye. Further studies are needed to determine the impact of VDV-1-DWV recombinants and their virological and antigenic properties.
ISSN:0007-4853
1475-2670
1475-2670
DOI:10.1017/S000748532400052X