Deformed wing virus type A, a major honey bee pathogen, is vectored by the mite Varroa destructor in a non-propagative manner.

ABSTRACT: Honey bees, the primary managed insect pollinator, suffer considerable losses due to Deformed wing virus (DWV), an RNA virus vectored by the mite Varroa destructor. Mite vectoring has resulted in the emergence of virulent DWV variants. The basis for such changes in DWV is poorly understood. Most importantly, it remains unclear whether replication of DWV occurs in the mite. In this study, we exposed Varroa mites to DWV type A via feeding on artificially infected honey bees. A significant, 357-fold increase in DWV load was observed in these mites after 2 days. However, after 8 additional days of passage on honey bee pupae with low viral loads, the DWV load dropped by 29-fold. This decrease significantly reduced the mites' ability to transmit DWV to honey bees. Notably, negative-strand DWV RN

SUBMITTER: Posada-Florez F 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6712216 | biostudies-literature | 2019 Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature