title: Honey Bee Infecting Lake Sinai Viruses.
abstract: Honey bees are critical pollinators of important agricultural crops. Recently, high annual losses of honey bee colonies have prompted further investigation of honey bee infecting viruses. To better characterize the recently discovered and very prevalent Lake Sinai virus (LSV) group, we sequenced currently circulating LSVs, performed phylogenetic analysis, and obtained images of LSV2. Sequence analysis resulted in extension of the LSV1 and LSV2 genomes, the first detection of LSV4 in the US, and the discovery of LSV6 and LSV7. We detected LSV1 and LSV2 in the Varroa destructor mite, and determined that a large proportion of LSV2 is found in the honey bee gut, suggesting that vector-mediated, food-associated, and/or fecal-oral routes may be important for LSV dissemination. Pathogen-specific quantitative PCR data, obtained from samples collected during a small-scale monitoring project, revealed that LSV2, LSV1, Black queen cell virus (BQCV), and Nosema ceranae were more abundant in weak colonies than strong colonies within this sample cohort. Together, these results enhance our current understanding of LSVs and illustrate the importance of future studies aimed at investigating the role of LSVs and other pathogens on honey bee health at both the individual and colony levels.
authors.affiliation: Department of Plant Sciences and Plant Pathology, Montana State University, Bozeman, MT 59717, USA. kdaughenbaugh@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Katie F
authors.initials: KF
authors.lastname: Daughenbaugh
authors.affiliation: Department of Plant Sciences and Plant Pathology, Montana State University, Bozeman, MT 59717, USA. mpm.91@live.com.
authors.forename: Madison
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Martin
authors.affiliation: Department of Plant Sciences and Plant Pathology, Montana State University, Bozeman, MT 59717, USA. laura.brutscher@msu.montana.edu.|Institute on Ecosystems, Montana State University, Bozeman, MT 59717, USA. laura.brutscher@msu.montana.edu.|Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Montana State University, Bozeman, MT 59717, USA. laura.brutscher@msu.montana.edu.
authors.forename: Laura M
authors.initials: LM
authors.lastname: Brutscher
authors.affiliation: Department of Plant Sciences and Plant Pathology, Montana State University, Bozeman, MT 59717, USA. icavigli@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Ian
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Cavigli
authors.affiliation: Department of Plant Sciences and Plant Pathology, Montana State University, Bozeman, MT 59717, USA. celticgarcia@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Emma
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Garcia
authors.affiliation: Department of Plant Sciences and Plant Pathology, Montana State University, Bozeman, MT 59717, USA. mlavin@montana.edu.
authors.forename: Matt
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Lavin
authors.affiliation: Department of Plant Sciences and Plant Pathology, Montana State University, Bozeman, MT 59717, USA. michelle.flenniken@montana.edu.|Institute on Ecosystems, Montana State University, Bozeman, MT 59717, USA. michelle.flenniken@montana.edu.
authors.forename: Michelle L
authors.initials: ML
authors.lastname: Flenniken
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001516:Bees / Q000382:microbiology / Q000821:virology*; D016000:Cluster Analysis; D046529:Microscopy, Electron, Transmission; D016818:Nosema / Q000302:isolation & purification; D010802:Phylogeny; D012328:RNA Viruses / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics / Q000302:isolation & purification* / Q000648:ultrastructure; D012367:RNA, Viral / Q000235:genetics; D017422:Sequence Analysis, DNA; D017385:Sequence Homology; D057077:Varroidae / Q000821:virology; D014764:Viral Proteins / Q000032:analysis / Q000235:genetics; D014771:Virion / Q000648:ultrastructure
chemical_list: D012367:RNA, Viral; D014764:Viral Proteins
keywords: Apis mellifera; Lake Sinai virus; honey bee; honey bee virus