Occurrence and genetic analysis of picorna-like viruses infecting worker bees of Apis mellifera L. populations in Devon, South West England.
Viruses of the European honeybee, Apis mellifera L. are known to reside at low levels in colonies, typically showing no apparent signs of infection. Using reverse transcription-PCR (RT-PCR), 23 apiaries in Devon were screened for the presence of 6 honeybee viruses, with positive colonies being analysed for viral genetic diversity. Ninety-seven percent of the colonies were positive for deformed wing virus (DWV), 29% were positive for acute bee paralysis virus (ABPV) and 1.4% were positive for both sacbrood virus (SBV) and black queen cell virus (BQCV). Multiple infections were common, with 32% of the colonies were infected by more than one virus.
Baker
Andrea
A
Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom, Citadel Hill, Plymouth, Devon PL1 2PB, UK. ancba@mba.ac.uk
Schroeder
Declan
D
D000818:Animals; D001483:Base Sequence; D001516:Bees / Q000821:virology*; D004739:England; D007304:Insect Viruses / Q000235:genetics*; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D010849:Picornaviridae / Q000235:genetics*; D010850:Picornaviridae Infections / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000662:veterinary; D012367:RNA, Viral / Q000032:analysis; D012324:RNA-Dependent RNA Polymerase / Q000235:genetics; D020133:Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction
D012367:RNA, Viral; D012324:RNA-Dependent RNA Polymerase