title: Characterization of viral siRNA populations in honey bee colony collapse disorder.
abstract: Colony Collapse Disorder (CCD), a special case of collapse of honey bee colonies, has resulted in significant losses for beekeepers. CCD-colonies show abundance of pathogens which suggests that they have a weakened immune system. Since honey bee viruses are major players in colony collapse and given the important role of viral RNA interference (RNAi) in combating viral infections we investigated if CCD-colonies elicit an RNAi response. Deep-sequencing analysis of samples from CCD-colonies from US and Israel revealed abundant small interfering RNAs (siRNA) of 21-22 nucleotides perfectly matching the Israeli acute paralysis virus (IAPV), Kashmir virus and Deformed wing virus genomes. Israeli colonies showed high titers of IAPV and a conserved RNAi-pattern of matching the viral genome. That was also observed in sample analysis from colonies experimentally infected with IAPV. Our results suggest that CCD-colonies set out a siRNA response that is specific against predominant viruses associated with colony losses.
authors.affiliation: Entomology Department, Institute of Plant Protection, ARO, The Volcani Center, POB 6, Bet Dagan 50250, Israel. Electronic address: ninar@volcani.agri.gov.il.
authors.forename: Nor
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Chejanovsky
authors.affiliation: Genomics Department, Institute of Plant Sciences, ARO, The Volcani Center, POB 6, Bet Dagan 50250, Israel.
authors.forename: Ron
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Ophir
authors.affiliation: Genomics Department, Institute of Plant Sciences, ARO, The Volcani Center, POB 6, Bet Dagan 50250, Israel.
authors.forename: Michal Sharabi
authors.initials: MS
authors.lastname: Schwager
authors.affiliation: Beekeeping Division, Extension Service, Israeli Ministry of Agriculture, POB 6, Bet Dagan 50250, Israel.
authors.forename: Yossi
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Slabezki
authors.affiliation: Entomology Department, Institute of Plant Protection, ARO, The Volcani Center, POB 6, Bet Dagan 50250, Israel; Faculty of Agricultural, Food and Environmental Quality Sciences, The Hebrew, University of Jerusalem, Rehovot 76100, Israel.
authors.forename: Smadar
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Grossman
authors.affiliation: Entomology Department, PennState University, University Park 16802, USA.
authors.forename: Diana
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Cox-Foster
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001516:Bees / Q000821:virology*; D056631:Colony Collapse; D059014:High-Throughput Nucleotide Sequencing; D007557:Israel; D034622:RNA Interference; D034741:RNA, Small Interfering / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D012367:RNA, Viral / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D014481:United States
chemical_list: D034741:RNA, Small Interfering; D012367:RNA, Viral
keywords: Colony collapse disorder; Israeli acute paralysis virus; Small interfering RNA