title: Bay laurel (Laurus nobilis) as potential antiviral treatment in naturally BQCV infected honeybees.
abstract: Viral diseases are one of the multiple factors associated with honeybee colony losses. Apart from their innate immune system, including the RNAi machinery, honeybees can use secondary plant metabolites to reduce or fully cure pathogen infections. Here, we tested the antiviral potential of Laurus nobilis leaf ethanolic extracts on forager honeybees naturally infected with BQCV (Black queen cell virus). Total viral loads were reduced even at the lowest concentration tested (1mg/ml). Higher extract concentrations (≥5mg/ml) significantly reduced virus replication. Measuring vitellogenin gene expression as an indicator for transcript homeostasis revealed constant RNA levels before and after treatment, suggesting that its expression was not impacted by the L. nobilis treatment. In conclusion, plant secondary metabolites can reduce virus loads and virus replication in naturally infected honeybees.
authors.affiliation: Departamentul de Apicultură şi Sericicultură, Universitatea de Ştiinţe Agricole şi Medicină Veterinară, Calea Mănăştur 3-5, 400372 Cluj-Napoca, Romania.
authors.forename: Adriana C
authors.initials: AC
authors.lastname: Aurori
authors.affiliation: Departamentul de Apicultură şi Sericicultură, Universitatea de Ştiinţe Agricole şi Medicină Veterinară, Calea Mănăştur 3-5, 400372 Cluj-Napoca, Romania.
authors.forename: Otilia
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Bobiş
authors.affiliation: Departamentul de Apicultură şi Sericicultură, Universitatea de Ştiinţe Agricole şi Medicină Veterinară, Calea Mănăştur 3-5, 400372 Cluj-Napoca, Romania.
authors.forename: Daniel S
authors.initials: DS
authors.lastname: Dezmirean
authors.affiliation: Departamentul de Apicultură şi Sericicultură, Universitatea de Ştiinţe Agricole şi Medicină Veterinară, Calea Mănăştur 3-5, 400372 Cluj-Napoca, Romania.
authors.forename: Liviu A
authors.initials: LA
authors.lastname: Mărghitaş
authors.affiliation: Departamentul de Apicultură şi Sericicultură, Universitatea de Ştiinţe Agricole şi Medicină Veterinară, Calea Mănăştur 3-5, 400372 Cluj-Napoca, Romania. Electronic address: erler.silvio@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Silvio
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Erler
mesh_terms: D000820:Animal Diseases / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000821:virology*; D000818:Animals; D000998:Antiviral Agents / Q000494:pharmacology*; D001516:Bees / Q000821:virology*; D004305:Dose-Response Relationship, Drug; D027442:Laurus / Q000737:chemistry*; D010849:Picornaviridae / Q000187:drug effects*; D010850:Picornaviridae Infections / Q000662:veterinary*; D010936:Plant Extracts / Q000494:pharmacology*; D019562:Viral Load
chemical_list: D000998:Antiviral Agents; D010936:Plant Extracts
keywords: Antiviral activity; BQCV; Flavonoid; Honeybee; Plant secondary metabolite; Polyphenol