title: The Effect of Oral Administration of dsRNA on Viral Replication and Mortality in Bombus terrestris.
abstract: Israeli acute paralysis virus (IAPV), a single-stranded RNA virus, has a worldwide distribution and affects honeybees as well as other important pollinators. IAPV infection in honeybees has been successfully repressed by exploiting the RNA interference (RNAi) pathway of the insect's innate immune response with virus-specific double stranded RNA (dsRNA). Here we investigated the effect of IAPV infection in the bumblebee Bombus terrestris and its tissue tropism. B. terrestris is a common pollinator of wild flowers in Europe and is used for biological pollination in agriculture. Infection experiments demonstrated a similar pathology and tissue tropism in bumblebees as reported for honeybees. The effect of oral administration of virus-specific dsRNA was examined and resulted in an effective silencing of the virus, irrespective of the length. Interestingly, we observed that non-specific dsRNA was also efficient against IAPV. However further study is needed to clarify the precise mechanism behind this effect. Finally we believe that our data are indicative of the possibility to use dsRNA for a broad range viral protection in bumblebees.
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Agrozoology, Department of Crop Protection, Faculty of Bioscience Engineering, Ghent University, 9000 Ghent, Belgium. niels.piot@ugent.be.
authors.forename: Niels
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Piot
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Agrozoology, Department of Crop Protection, Faculty of Bioscience Engineering, Ghent University, 9000 Ghent, Belgium. simonp.snoeck@ugent.be.
authors.forename: Simon
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Snoeck
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Agrozoology, Department of Crop Protection, Faculty of Bioscience Engineering, Ghent University, 9000 Ghent, Belgium. maarten.vanlede@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Maarten
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Vanlede
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Agrozoology, Department of Crop Protection, Faculty of Bioscience Engineering, Ghent University, 9000 Ghent, Belgium. guy.smagghe@ugent.be.
authors.forename: Guy
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Smagghe
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Agrozoology, Department of Crop Protection, Faculty of Bioscience Engineering, Ghent University, 9000 Ghent, Belgium. ivan.meeus@ugent.be.
authors.forename: Ivan
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Meeus
mesh_terms: D000284:Administration, Oral; D000818:Animals; D000998:Antiviral Agents / Q000008:administration & dosage*; D001516:Bees / Q000821:virology*; D012328:RNA Viruses / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000502:physiology*; D012330:RNA, Double-Stranded / Q000008:administration & dosage*; D016896:Treatment Outcome; D056189:Viral Tropism; D014779:Virus Replication / Q000187:drug effects*
chemical_list: D000998:Antiviral Agents; D012330:RNA, Double-Stranded
keywords: IAPV; bumblebee; dsRNA; immune response; virus