College of Animal Sciences, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China.
Bee Research Laboratory, USDA-ARS, Beltsville, MD, USA.
Microbiologyopen. 2021 Jan;10(1):e1162. doi: 10.1002/mbo3.1162.
It is a widespread practice in China to keep colonies of both the western honey bee, Apis mellifera, and the eastern honey bee, Apis cerana, in close proximity. However, this practice increases opportunities for spillover of parasites and pathogens between the two host bee species, impacting spatial and temporal patterns in the occurrence and prevalence of the viruses that adversely affect bee health. We conducted a 1-year large-scale survey to assess the current status of viral infection in both A. mellifera and A. cerana in China. Our study focused on multiple aspects of viral infections in honey bees, including infection rate, viral load, seasonal variation, regional variation, and phylogenetic relationships of the viruses within the same species found in this study and other parts of the world. The survey showed that the black queen cell virus (BQCV), deformed wing virus (DWV), Israeli acute paralysis virus (IAPV), and sacbrood virus (SBV) were common in both A. mellifera and A. cerana, and infection dynamics of BQCV, DWV, and SBV between bee species or seasons were significantly different. DWV was the most common virus in A. mellifera, and its infection rate and load in A. mellifera were higher than those in A. cerana, which reflects the high susceptibility of A. mellifera to Varroa destructor infestation. The infection rate and viral load of SBV were higher in A. cerana than in A. mellifera, indicating that SBV poses a greater threat to A. cerana than to A. mellifera. Our results also suggested that there was no geographical variation in viral dynamics in A. mellifera and A. cerana. Phylogenetic analyses of BQCV, DWV, IAPV, and SBV suggested the cross-regional and cross-species spread of these viruses. This study provides important insights into the complex relationships between viruses and their hosts in different seasons and regions, which will be important for developing effective disease management strategies to improve bee health.
在中国，人们普遍将西方蜜蜂（Apis mellifera）和东方蜜蜂（Apis cerana）的蜂群近距离饲养。然而，这种做法增加了两种宿主蜜蜂之间寄生虫和病原体溢出的机会，影响了病毒在时空上的发生和流行模式，从而对蜜蜂的健康产生不利影响。我们进行了为期一年的大规模调查，以评估中国西方蜜蜂和东方蜜蜂中病毒的感染现状。我们的研究集中在蜜蜂病毒感染的多个方面，包括感染率、病毒载量、季节性变化、区域性变化以及在本研究和世界其他地区发现的同种病毒的系统发育关系。该调查显示，黑蜂王细胞病毒（BQCV）、变形翅膀病毒（DWV）、以色列急性麻痹病毒（IAPV）和囊状幼虫病病毒（SBV）在西方蜜蜂和东方蜜蜂中都很常见，并且在蜂种或季节之间，BQCV、DWV 和 SBV 的感染动态有显著差异。DWV 是西方蜜蜂中最常见的病毒，其在西方蜜蜂中的感染率和载量均高于东方蜜蜂，这反映了西方蜜蜂对瓦螨寄生的高度敏感性。SBV 在东方蜜蜂中的感染率和病毒载量均高于西方蜜蜂，表明 SBV 对东方蜜蜂的威胁大于西方蜜蜂。我们的研究结果还表明，在西方蜜蜂和东方蜜蜂中，病毒动态没有地理变化。BQCV、DWV、IAPV 和 SBV 的系统发育分析表明，这些病毒在不同地区和不同季节之间存在跨区域和跨物种传播。本研究为不同季节和地区病毒与其宿主之间的复杂关系提供了重要的见解，这对于制定有效的疾病管理策略以改善蜜蜂健康状况至关重要。
