The prevalence of seven crucial honeybee viruses using multiplex RT-PCR and their phylogenetic analysis

Abstract

Honey bee viruses may be of severe adverse effect on bee colonies. Till now, more than twenty honey bee viruses have been identified. The aim of this study was to investigate the prevalence of seven honey bee viruses, namely Israeli acute paralysis virus (IAPV), deformed wing virus (DWV), sacbrood virus (SBV), acute bee paralysis virus (ABPV), black queen cell virus (BQCV), Kashmir bee virus (KBV), and chronic bee paralysis virus (CBPV) using a multiplex reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (mRT-PCR). A total of 111 apiaries were randomly selected and adult bees and larvae samples were obtained from seemingly healthy colonies located at Aegean region of west Turkey. The presence of black queen cell virus (BQCV), chronic bee paralysis virus (CBPV), deformed wing virus (DWV), acute bee paralysis virus (ABPV), and sacbrood virus (SBV) was detected, while Israeli acute paralysis virus (IAPV) or Kashmir bee virus (KBV) couldn’t be detected in studied colonies. The results showed the virus with the highest prevalence was DWV followed by BQCV, ABPV, SBV, and CBPV. PCR products for DWV, BQCV, ABPV, SBV, CBPV were sequenced and compared to the Genbank database. The Turkish strains demonstrated heterogeneous populations of DWV, BQCV, and relatively homogenous populations of ABPV, CBPV, and SBV. Based on these results, SBV and CBPV had formed different branch and genotypes when compared to previous studies. In conclusion, this study provides information about the distinctive honey bee viruses for future researches in Turkey, which holds the largest number of managed colonies in Europe. Key words: Apis mellifera, deformed wing virus, black quenn cell virus, sacbrood virus, chronic bee paralysis virus, acute bee paralysis virus