title: Distribution and variability of deformed wing virus of honeybees (Apis mellifera) in the Middle East and North Africa.
abstract: Three hundred and eleven honeybee samples from 12 countries in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) (Jordan, Lebanon, Syria, Iraq, Egypt, Libya, Tunisia, Algeria, Morocco, Yemen, Palestine, and Sudan) were analyzed for the presence of deformed wing virus (DWV). The prevalence of DWV throughout the MENA region was pervasive, but variable. The highest prevalence was found in Lebanon and Syria, with prevalence dropping in Palestine, Jordan, and Egypt before increasing slightly moving westwards to Algeria and Morocco Phylogenetic analysis of a 194 nucleotide section of the DWV Lp gene did not identify any significant phylogenetic resolution among the samples, although the sequences did show consistent regional clustering, including an interesting geographic gradient from Morocco through North Africa to Jordan and Syria. The sequences revealed several clear variability hotspots in the deduced amino acid sequence, which furthermore showed some patterns of regional identity. Furthermore, the sequence variants from the Middle East and North Africa appear more numerous and diverse than those from Europe.
authors.affiliation: Bee Research Department, National Center for Agriculture Research and Extension, Baq'a, Jordan.
authors.forename: Nizar Jamal
authors.initials: NJ
authors.lastname: Haddad
authors.affiliation: Department of Biology, M'hamed Bougara University of Boumerdes, ENS Kouba, Algeries.
authors.forename: Adjlane
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Noureddine
authors.affiliation: Bee Research Department, National Center for Agriculture Research and Extension, Baq'a, Jordan.
authors.forename: Banan
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Al-Shagour
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Applied Animal Biology, University Badji-Mokhtar, Annaba, Algeria.
authors.forename: Wahida
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Loucif-Ayad
authors.affiliation: Department of Bee Research, Environment, Natural Resources and Desertification Research Institute, National Centre for Research, Khartoum, Sudan.
authors.forename: Mogbel A A
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: El-Niweiri
authors.affiliation: Bee Research Department, National Center for Agriculture Research and Extension, Baq'a, Jordan.
authors.forename: Eman
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Anaswah
authors.affiliation: Bee Research Department, National Center for Agriculture Research and Extension, Baq'a, Jordan.
authors.forename: Wafaa Abu
authors.initials: WA
authors.lastname: Hammour
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Agriculture and Veterinary Sciences, Lebanese University, Beirut, Lebanon.
authors.forename: Dany
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: El-Obeid
authors.affiliation: West Bank, State of Palestine, Halhul-Hebron District, Palestine.
authors.forename: Albaba
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Imad
authors.affiliation: Department of Plant Protection, Suez Canal University, Ismailia, Egypt.
authors.forename: Mohamed A
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Shebl
authors.affiliation: Extension Department, Qadysia Governate Agricultural Directorate, Iraq.
authors.forename: Abdulhusien Sehen
authors.initials: AS
authors.lastname: Almaleky
authors.affiliation: Department of Plant Protection, Sana'a University, Sana'a, Yemen.
authors.forename: Abdullah
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Nasher
authors.affiliation: National Federation of Tunisian beekeepers, Tunis, Tunisia.
authors.forename: Nagara
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Walid
authors.affiliation: Ruchers El Bakri, Hay Assalam-Sidi Slimane, Rabat, Morocco.
authors.forename: Mohamed Fouad
authors.initials: MF
authors.lastname: Bergigui
authors.affiliation: Institute of Bee Health, Vetsuisse Faculty,  University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland.
authors.forename: Orlando
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Yañez
authors.affiliation: Department of Ecology, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Uppsala, Sweden.
authors.forename: Joachim R
authors.initials: JR
authors.lastname: de Miranda
mesh_terms: D000352:Africa, Northern; D000818:Animals; D001516:Bees / Q000821:virology*; D014644:Genetic Variation; D008877:Middle East; D010802:Phylogeny; D012328:RNA Viruses / Q000235:genetics* / Q000302:isolation & purification
keywords: Apis mellifera; Middle East; North Africa; deformed wing virus; prevalence; variability