Superinfection exclusion and the long-term survival of honey bees in Varroa-infested colonies.
Over the past 50 years, many millions of European honey bee (Apis mellifera) colonies have died as the ectoparasitic mite, Varroa destructor, has spread around the world. Subsequent studies have indicated that the mite's association with a group of RNA viral pathogens (Deformed Wing Virus, DWV) correlates with colony death. Here, we propose a phenomenon known as superinfection exclusion that provides an explanation of how certain A. mellifera populations have survived, despite Varroa infestation and high DWV loads. Next-generation sequencing has shown that a non-lethal DWV variant 'type B' has become established in these colonies and that the lethal 'type A' DWV variant fails to persist in the bee population. We propose that this novel stable host-pathogen relationship prevents the accumulation of lethal variants, suggesting that this interaction could be exploited for the development of an effective treatment that minimises colony losses in the future.
Viral Ecology, Marine Biological Association, Plymouth, UK.|School of Biological Sciences, University of Reading, Reading, UK.
Gideon J
GJ
Mordecai
School of Environment and Life Sciences, The University of Salford, Manchester, UK.
Laura E
LE
Brettell
School of Environment and Life Sciences, The University of Salford, Manchester, UK.
Stephen J
SJ
Martin
Viral Ecology, Marine Biological Association, Plymouth, UK.
David
D
Dixon
School of Biological Sciences, University of Reading, Reading, UK.
Ian M
IM
Jones
Viral Ecology, Marine Biological Association, Plymouth, UK.
Declan C
DC
Schroeder
D000818:Animals; D001516:Bees / Q000469:parasitology*; D019295:Computational Biology; D020451:Contig Mapping; D016679:Genome, Viral; D054884:Host-Pathogen Interactions; D012367:RNA, Viral; D015163:Superinfection / Q000469:parasitology* / Q000821:virology*; D057077:Varroidae / Q000472:pathogenicity* / Q000821:virology*
D012367:RNA, Viral