Ferrufino Cecilia, Scannapieco Alejandra, Russo Romina María, Gonzalez Fernanda Noemí, Salvador Ricardo, Dus Santos María José
Instituto de Virología e Innovaciones Tecnológicas (IVIT) INTA-CONICET, Centro de Investigaciones en Ciencias Agronómicas y Veterinarias (CICVyA), Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria (INTA), Hurlingham 1686, Buenos Aires, Argentina.
Instituto de Genética Ewald A. Favret INTA-CONICET, Centro de Investigaciones en Ciencias Agronómicas y Veterinarias (CICVyA), Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria (INTA), Grupo Vinculado al IABIMO-Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas (CONICET), Hurlingham 1686, Buenos Aires, Argentina.
Insects. 2025 Apr 25;16(5):453. doi: 10.3390/insects16050453.
In Argentina, various studies have reported the detection of multiple viruses in honey-producing and queen-rearing apiaries, with , the causal agent of acute bee paralysis (ABP), demonstrating a particularly high prevalence. The potential of RNA interference (RNAi) as a strategy to control honey bee viruses has been explored, with initial findings indicating that RNAi could aid in mitigating the economic losses associated with viral infections. This study aimed to evaluate the effect of RNAi technology mediated by double-stranded RNA (dsRNA) on the dynamics of ABPV infection in adult honey bees. Fragments of the ABPV replicase and VP1 genes were used as templates for dsRNA synthesis via in vitro transcription. A gene silencing experiment was conducted through oral administration using five treatments: control, specific dsRNA + Virus, Virus alone, specific dsRNA alone, and non-specific dsRNA + virus. Bee survival was recorded over 10 days for all treatments, and samples were subsequently processed for viral quantification using quantitative real-time PCR. The oral administration of specific dsRNA reduced the viral replication curve, decreased the average viral loads and increased bee survival. This is the first report demonstrating the reduction in ABPV infection in adult honey bees through post-transcriptional gene silencing achieved via oral administration of dsRNA.
在阿根廷，多项研究报告称，在产蜜和育王蜂场中检测到多种病毒，其中急性蜜蜂麻痹症（ABP）的病原体——[病毒名称未给出]，显示出特别高的流行率。人们已经探索了RNA干扰（RNAi）作为控制蜜蜂病毒策略的潜力，初步研究结果表明，RNAi有助于减轻与病毒感染相关的经济损失。本研究旨在评估双链RNA（dsRNA）介导的RNAi技术对成年蜜蜂中ABPV感染动态的影响。ABPV复制酶和VP1基因的片段用作体外转录合成dsRNA的模板。通过口服给药进行基因沉默实验，设置了五种处理：对照、特异性dsRNA + 病毒、单独病毒、单独特异性dsRNA以及非特异性dsRNA + 病毒。记录所有处理组10天内蜜蜂的存活情况，随后使用定量实时PCR对样本进行病毒定量分析。口服特异性dsRNA降低了病毒复制曲线，降低了平均病毒载量并提高了蜜蜂存活率。这是第一份通过口服dsRNA实现转录后基因沉默从而降低成年蜜蜂中ABPV感染的报告。
