KU Leuven-University of Leuven, Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Transplantation, Division of Clinical and Epidemiological Virology, Rega Institute, Leuven, Belgium.
UGent-Ghent University, Department of Biochemistry and Microbiology, Laboratory of Molecular Entomology and Bee Pathology (L-MEB), Ghent, Belgium.
Microbiol Spectr. 2024 Jul 2;12(7):e0358123. doi: 10.1128/spectrum.03581-23. Epub 2024 Jun 11.
In recent years, managed honey bee colonies have been suffering from an increasing number of biotic and abiotic stressors, resulting in numerous losses of colonies worldwide. A pan-European study, EPILOBEE, estimated the colony loss in Belgium to be 32.4% in 2012 and 14.8% in 2013. In the current study, absolute viral loads of four known honey bee viruses (DWV-A, DWV-B, AmFV, and BMLV) and three novel putative honey bee viruses (Apis orthomyxovirus 1, apthili virus, and apparli virus) were determined in 300 Flemish honey bee samples, and associations with winter survival were determined. This revealed that, in addition to the known influence of DWV-A and DWV-B on colony health, one of the newly described viruses (apthili virus) shows a strong yearly difference and is also associated with winter survival. Furthermore, all scrutinized viruses revealed significant spatial clustering patterns, implying that despite the limited surface area of Flanders, local virus transmission is paramount. The vast majority of samples were positive for at least one of the seven investigated viruses, and up to 20% of samples were positive for at least one of the three novel viruses. One of those three, Apis orthomyxovirus 1, was shown to be a genuine honey bee-infecting virus, able to infect all developmental stages of the honey bee, as well as the mite. These results shed light on the most prevalent viruses in Belgium and their roles in the winter survival of honey bee colonies.
The western honey bee () is a highly effective pollinator of flowering plants, including many crops, which gives honey bees an outstanding importance both ecologically and economically. Alarmingly high annual loss rates of managed honey bee colonies are a growing concern for beekeepers and scientists and have prompted a significant research effort toward bee health. Several detrimental factors have been identified, such as varroa mite infestation and disease from various bacterial and viral agents, but annual differences are often not elucidated. In this study, we utilize the viral metagenomic survey of the EPILOBEE project, a European research program for bee health, to elaborate on the most abundant bee viruses of Flanders. We complement the existing metagenomic data with absolute viral loads and their spatial and temporal distributions. Furthermore, we identify Apis orthomyxovirus 1 as a potentially emerging pathogen, as we find evidence for its active replication honey bees.
近年来，饲养的蜜蜂群遭受越来越多的生物和非生物胁迫，导致全球许多蜂群损失。一项泛欧研究，EPILOBEE，估计 2012 年比利时的蜂群损失为 32.4%，2013 年为 14.8%。在当前的研究中，在 300 个佛兰芒蜜蜂样本中确定了四种已知的蜜蜂病毒（DWV-A、DWV-B、AmFV 和 BMLV）和三种新的假定的蜜蜂病毒（Apis orthomyxovirus 1、apthili 病毒和 apparli 病毒）的绝对病毒载量，并确定了与冬季生存的关联。这表明，除了 DWV-A 和 DWV-B 对蜂群健康的已知影响外，新描述的一种病毒（apthili 病毒）表现出强烈的年度差异，也与冬季生存有关。此外，所有检查的病毒都显示出明显的空间聚类模式，这意味着尽管佛兰芒的表面积有限，但当地的病毒传播至关重要。绝大多数样本至少对七种研究病毒中的一种呈阳性，多达 20%的样本至少对三种新病毒中的一种呈阳性。其中一种，Apis orthomyxovirus 1，被证明是一种真正感染蜜蜂的病毒，能够感染蜜蜂的所有发育阶段，以及螨虫。这些结果揭示了比利时最常见的病毒及其在蜜蜂越冬中的作用。
西方蜜蜂（Apis mellifera）是开花植物的高效传粉者，包括许多作物，这使得蜜蜂在生态和经济上都具有卓越的重要性。管理不善的蜜蜂群每年惊人的高死亡率是养蜂人和科学家日益关注的问题，这促使人们对蜜蜂健康进行了大量研究。已经确定了一些不利因素，例如瓦螨的侵袭和各种细菌和病毒制剂引起的疾病，但年度差异通常无法阐明。在这项研究中，我们利用欧洲蜜蜂健康研究计划 EPILOBEE 的病毒宏基因组调查来详细说明佛兰芒的最丰富的蜜蜂病毒。我们用绝对病毒载量及其时空分布来补充现有的宏基因组数据。此外，我们确定 Apis orthomyxovirus 1 是一种潜在的新兴病原体，因为我们发现了它在蜜蜂中活跃复制的证据。
