Honey Bee Viruses in Wild Bees: Viral Prevalence, Loads, and Experimental Inoculation.

ABSTRACT: Evidence of inter-species pathogen transmission from managed to wild bees has sparked concern that emerging diseases could be causing or exacerbating wild bee declines. While some pathogens, like RNA viruses, have been found in pollen and wild bees, the threat these viruses pose to wild bees is largely unknown. Here, we tested 169 bees, representing 4 families and 8 genera, for five common honey bee (Apis mellifera) viruses, finding that more than 80% of wild bees harbored at least one virus. We also quantified virus titers in these bees, providing, for the first time, an assessment of viral load in a broad spectrum of wild bees. Although virus detection was very common, virus levels in the wild bees were minimal-similar to or lower than foraging honey bees and substantially lower than hon

SUBMITTER: Dolezal AG 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5104440 | biostudies-literature | 2016

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature