Parallel epigenomic and transcriptomic responses to viral infection in honey bees (Apis mellifera).

ABSTRACT: Populations of honey bees are declining throughout the world, with US beekeepers losing 30% of their colonies each winter. Though multiple factors are driving these colony losses, it is increasingly clear that viruses play a major role. However, information about the molecular mechanisms mediating antiviral immunity in honey bees is surprisingly limited. Here, we examined the transcriptional and epigenetic (DNA methylation) responses to viral infection in honey bee workers. One-day old worker honey bees were fed solutions containing Israeli Acute Paralysis Virus (IAPV), a virus which causes muscle paralysis and death and has previously been associated with colony loss. Uninfected control and infected, symptomatic bees were collected within 20-24 hours after infection. Worker fat bodies, th

SUBMITTER: Galbraith DA 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4374888 | biostudies-literature | 2015 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature