Genetic characterization of slow bee paralysis virus of the honeybee (Apis mellifera L.)

• Published in: Journal of general virology 2010-10, Vol.91 (Pt 10), p.2524-2530
• Main Authors: DE MIRANDA, Joachim R, DAINAT, Benjamin, LOCKE, Barbara, CORDONI, Guido, BERTHOUD, Helène, GAUTHIER, Laurent, NEUMANN, Peter, BUDGE, Giles E, BALL, Brenda V, STOLTZ, Don B
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: 3' Untranslated Regions; 5' Untranslated Regions; Animals; Bees - virology; Biological and medical sciences; Cluster Analysis; Europe; Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology; Genome, Viral; Microbiology; Miscellaneous; Molecular Sequence Data; Open Reading Frames; Phylogeny; RNA Viruses - genetics; RNA Viruses - isolation & purification; RNA, Messenger - genetics; RNA, Viral - genetics; Sequence Analysis, DNA; Sequence Homology, Amino Acid; Sequence Homology, Nucleic Acid; Virology
• ISSN: 0022-1317; 1465-2099
• DOI: 10.1099/vir.0.022434-0

Complete genome sequences were determined for two distinct strains of slow bee paralysis virus (SBPV) of honeybees (Apis mellifera). The SBPV genome is approximately 9.5 kb long and contains a single ORF flanked by 5'- and 3'-UTRs and a naturally polyadenylated 3' tail, with a genome organization typical of members of the family Iflaviridae. The two strains, labelled 'Rothamsted' and 'Harpenden', are 83% identical at the nucleotide level (94% identical at the amino acid level), although this variation is distributed unevenly over the genome. The two strains were found to co-exist at different proportions in two independently propagated SBPV preparations. The natural prevalence of SBPV for 847 colonies in 162 apiaries across five European countries was