title: Deformed wing virus is a recent global epidemic in honeybees driven by Varroa mites.
abstract: Deformed wing virus (DWV) and its vector, the mite Varroa destructor, are a major threat to the world's honeybees. Although the impact of Varroa on colony-level DWV epidemiology is evident, we have little understanding of wider DWV epidemiology and the role that Varroa has played in its global spread. A phylogeographic analysis shows that DWV is globally distributed in honeybees, having recently spread from a common source, the European honeybee Apis mellifera. DWV exhibits epidemic growth and transmission that is predominantly mediated by European and North American honeybee populations and driven by trade and movement of honeybee colonies. DWV is now an important reemerging pathogen of honeybees, which are undergoing a worldwide manmade epidemic fueled by the direct transmission route that the Varroa mite provides.
authors.affiliation: Centre for Ecology and Conservation, University of Exeter, Penryn Campus, Penryn TR11 9FE, UK.
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Wilfert
authors.affiliation: Department of Animal and Plant Sciences, University of Sheffield, Sheffield S10 2TN, UK.
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Long
authors.affiliation: Department of Animal and Plant Sciences, University of Sheffield, Sheffield S10 2TN, UK.
authors.forename: H C
authors.initials: HC
authors.lastname: Leggett
authors.affiliation: Institute of Integrative Biology, ETH Zürich, 8092 Zürich, Switzerland.
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Schmid-Hempel
authors.affiliation: Department of Animal and Plant Sciences, University of Sheffield, Sheffield S10 2TN, UK.
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Butlin
authors.affiliation: School of Environment and Life Sciences, University of Salford, Manchester M5 4WT, UK.
authors.forename: S J M
authors.initials: SJ
authors.lastname: Martin
authors.affiliation: Centre for Ecology and Conservation, University of Exeter, Penryn Campus, Penryn TR11 9FE, UK.
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Boots
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001516:Bees / Q000821:virology*; D054884:Host-Pathogen Interactions; D007303:Insect Vectors / Q000821:virology*; D007304:Insect Viruses / Q000145:classification / Q000302:isolation & purification / Q000472:pathogenicity*; D010802:Phylogeny; D012328:RNA Viruses / Q000145:classification / Q000302:isolation & purification / Q000472:pathogenicity*; D057077:Varroidae / Q000821:virology*