Research Institute for Sustainable Humanosphere, Kyoto University, Kyoto 611-0011, Japan.
Laboratory of Insect Ecology, Graduate School of Agriculture, Kyoto University, Kyoto 606-8502, Japan.
Viruses. 2020 Nov 15;12(11):1309. doi: 10.3390/v12111309.
Spillover of honey bee viruses have posed a significant threat to pollination services, triggering substantial effort in determining the host range of the viruses as an attempt to understand the transmission dynamics. Previous studies have reported infection of honey bee viruses in ants, raising the concern of ants serving as a reservoir host. Most of these studies, however, are restricted to a single, local ant population. We assessed the status (geographical distribution/prevalence/viral replication) and phylogenetic relationships of honey bee viruses in ants across the Asia-Pacific region, using deformed wing virus (DWV) and two widespread invasive ants, and , as the study system. DWV was detected in both ant species, with differential geographical distribution patterns and prevenance levels between them. These metrics, however, are consistent across the geographical range of the same ant species. Active replication was only evident in . . We also showed that ant-associated DWV is genetically similar to that isolated from Asian populations of honey bees, suggesting that local acquisition of DWV by the invasive ants may have been common at least in some of our sampled regions. Transmission efficiency of DWV to local arthropods mediated by ant, however, may vary across ant species.
蜜蜂病毒的溢出对授粉服务构成了重大威胁，促使人们努力确定病毒的宿主范围，试图了解其传播动态。先前的研究报告称，在蚂蚁中感染了蜜蜂病毒，这引发了人们对蚂蚁可能作为储存宿主的担忧。然而，这些研究大多局限于单一的、局部的蚂蚁种群。我们使用变形翅膀病毒 (DWV) 和两种广泛存在的入侵蚂蚁 和 ，评估了亚太地区蚂蚁中蜜蜂病毒的状况（地理分布/流行率/病毒复制）和系统发育关系。在这两种蚂蚁中都检测到了 DWV，它们的地理分布模式和流行率水平存在差异。然而，这些指标在同一蚂蚁物种的地理范围内是一致的。只有 在 中检测到了活跃的复制。我们还表明，与蚂蚁相关的 DWV 在基因上与从亚洲蜜蜂种群中分离出的 DWV 相似，这表明入侵蚂蚁至少在我们采样的一些地区可能已经普遍从当地获得了 DWV。然而，通过蚂蚁向当地节肢动物传播 DWV 的效率可能因蚂蚁种类而异。
