Department of Entomology, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA 16802-1503, USA.
Department of Biological Sciences, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN 37240-0002, USA.
Proc Biol Sci. 2023 Oct 25;290(2009):20231965. doi: 10.1098/rspb.2023.1965.
Understanding the ecological and evolutionary processes that drive host-pathogen interactions is critical for combating epidemics and conserving species. The mite and deformed wing virus (DWV) are two synergistic threats to Western honeybee () populations across the globe. Distinct honeybee populations have been found to self-sustain despite infestations, including colonies within the Arnot Forest outside Ithaca, NY, USA. We hypothesized that in these bee populations, DWV has been selected to produce an avirulent infection phenotype, allowing for the persistence of both host and disease-causing agents. To investigate this, we assessed the titre of viruses in bees from the Arnot Forest and managed apiaries, and assessed genomic variation and virulence differences between DWV isolates. Across groups, we found viral abundance was similar, but DWV genotypes were distinct. We also found that infections with isolates from the Arnot Forest resulted in higher survival and lower rates of symptomatic deformed wings, compared to analogous isolates from managed colonies, providing preliminary evidence to support the hypothesis of adaptive decreased viral virulence. Overall, this multi-level investigation of virus genotype and phenotype indicates that host ecological context can be a significant driver of viral evolution and host-pathogen interactions in honeybees.
了解驱动宿主-病原体相互作用的生态和进化过程对于控制传染病和保护物种至关重要。螨和变形翅膀病毒（DWV）是对全球西方蜜蜂（）种群的两个协同威胁。尽管存在螨虫感染，但已经发现不同的蜜蜂种群能够自我维持，包括位于美国纽约伊萨卡市阿诺特森林内的殖民地。我们假设，在这些蜜蜂种群中，DWV 已被选择产生无毒感染表型，从而使宿主和致病因子得以持续存在。为了研究这一点，我们评估了来自阿诺特森林和管理蜂群的蜜蜂中的病毒滴度，并评估了 DWV 分离株之间的基因组变异和毒力差异。在各个群体中，我们发现病毒丰度相似，但 DWV 基因型不同。我们还发现，与来自管理殖民地的类似分离株相比，来自阿诺特森林的分离株引起的感染导致更高的存活率和更低的畸形翅膀症状率，这为支持病毒毒力适应性降低的假设提供了初步证据。总的来说，对病毒基因型和表型的多层次调查表明，宿主生态背景可能是影响蜜蜂中病毒进化和宿主-病原体相互作用的重要因素。
