Description
ISL1: Israeli Acute Bee Paralysis Virus (IABPV), Slow Bee Paralysis Virus (SBPV), Lake Sinai Virus 1 (LSV1)
IABPV was initially identified in 2002, from a single bee within a cluster of dead bees found in front of failing hives near Alon Hagalil, in Israel (de Miranda et al., 2010a). IABPV becomes established as a persistent infection in honey bee populations and can infect all developmental stages and different sexes of honey bees (Chen et al., 2014). IABPV can be found within all bee tissues but tends to concentrate in gut and nerve tissues and in the hypopharyngeal glands. Consequently, the virus has been found within royal jelly, which is fed to queens and larvae, as well as in the nectars shared among adult workers, suggesting food as the vehicle for within colony and horizontal transmission (Chen et al., 2014). However, IABPV can also be transmitted via feces and vector-mediated through Varroa destructor (Chen et al., 2014). While strong colonies typically remain asymptomatic, infected bees can exhibit shivering wings and progressive paralysis, typical symptoms of nerve-function impairment (Cox-Foster et al., 2007). When honey bees live under stressful conditions, such as Varroa mite infestation and overwintering stress, the virus replicates quickly and becomes more infectious, leading to the death of hosts and possible collapse of the colony (Chen et al., 2014).
SBPV is one of several honey bee viruses linked to high mortality of colonies infested with Varroa destructor mites (de Miranda et al., 2010b). Rarely found in honey bee colonies, SBPV is common in bumblebees and silkworms, and therefore, honey bees may be an incidental, secondary host (Kalynych et al., 2016). Like most honey bee viruses, SBPV persists naturally as a covert infection, most likely through oral transmission, but can be transmitted readily among adult bees and to pupae by Varroa destructor mites (de Miranda et al., 2010b). SBPV induces paralysis of the anterior two pairs of legs about 10 days after infection (de Miranda et al., 2010b). SBPV appears to be extremely rare, having been identified positively only in Britain, Fiji, and Western Samoa (Martin et al., 1998; Anderson, 1990; Carreck et al., 2010; Allen and Ball, 1996). To date this virus has not been found in the US, but continues to be monitored due to the risks posed should it arrive (Traynor et al., 2016).
In 2009, Lake Sinai Virus (LSV) was first discovered in honey bee samples from a migratory commercial beekeeping operation with sites near Lake Sinai, in Brookings County, South Dakota (Daughenbaugh et al., 2015). There are several “types” or variants of the virus. We test for the two most common: Type 1 and Type 2. The virus is thought to be transmitted through mites.
LSV is a very prevalent virus; roughly 20-30% of the total pathogens found in honey bees are LSV. In one study, LSV1 infections peaked in July (which is similar to other bee viruses) and LSV2 peaked in January and April (Daughenbaugh et al., 2015). A large proportion of LSV2 has been found in the honey bee gut, suggesting that vector-mediated, food-associated, and/or fecal-oral routes may be important for LSV dissemination (Daughenbaugh et al., 2015). From a management standpoint, the literature recommends trying to reduce the vector (mites) in the colony.
References
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Anderson, D. L. 1990. Pests and Pathogens of the Honeybee (Apis Mellifera L.) in Fiji. Journal of Apicultural Research, 29, 53-59.
Carreck, N. L., Ball, B. V. & Martin, S. J. 2010. Honey bee colony collapse and changes in viral prevalence associated with Varroa destructor. Journal of Apicultural Research, 49, 93-94.
Chen, Y. P., Pettis, J. S., Corona, M., Chen, W. P., Li, C. J., Spivak, M., Visscher, P. K., DeGrandi-Hoffman, G., Boncristiani, H., Zhao, Y., vanEngelsdorp, D., Delaplane, K., Solter, L., Drummond, F., Kramer, M., Lipkin, W. I., Palacios, G., Hamilton, M. C., Smith, B., Huang, S. K., Zheng, H. Q., Li, J. L., Zhang, X., Zhou, A. F., Wu, L. Y., Zhou, J. Z., Lee, M.-L., Teixeira, E. W., Li, Z. G. & Evans, J. D. 2014. Israeli Acute Paralysis Virus: Epidemiology, Pathogenesis and Implications for Honey Bee Health. PLOS Pathogens, 10, e1004261.
Cox-Foster, D. L., Conlan, S., Holmes, E. C., Palacios, G., Evans, J. D., Moran, N. A., Quan, P. L., Briese, T., Hornig, M., Geiser, D. M., Martinson, V., vanEngelsdorp, D., Kalkstein, A. L., Drysdale, A., Hui, J., Zhai, J., Cui, L., Hutchison, S. K., Simons, J. F., Egholm, M., Pettis, J. S. & Lipkin, W. I. 2007. A metagenomic survey of microbes in honey bee colony collapse disorder. Science, 318, 283-7.
Daughenbaugh, K. F., Martin, M., Brutscher, L. M., Cavigli, I., Garcia, E., Lavin, M. & Flenniken, M. L. 2015. Honey Bee Infecting Lake Sinai Viruses. Viruses, 7, 3285-309.
de Miranda, J. R., Cordoni, G. & Budge, G. 2010a. The Acute bee paralysis virus-Kashmir bee virus-Israeli acute paralysis virus complex. J Invertebr Pathol, 103 Suppl 1, S30-47.
de Miranda, J. R., Dainat, B., Locke, B., Cordoni, G., Berthoud, H., Gauthier, L., Neumann, P., Budge, G. E., Ball, B. V. & Stoltz, D. B. 2010b. Genetic characterization of slow bee paralysis virus of the honeybee (Apis mellifera L.). J Gen Virol, 91, 2524-30.
Kalynych, S., Přidal, A., Pálková, L., Levdansky, Y., de Miranda, J. R. & Plevka, P. 2016. Virion Structure of Iflavirus Slow Bee Paralysis Virus at 2.6-Angstrom Resolution. J Virol, 90, 7444-7455.
Martin, S., Hogarth, A., van Breda, J. & Perrett, J. 1998. A scientific note on Varroa jacobsoni Oudemans and the collapse of Apis mellifera L. colonies in the United Kingdom. Apidologie, 29, 369-370.
Traynor, K. S., Rennich, K., Forsgren, E., Rose, R., Pettis, J., Kunkel, G., Madella, S., Evans, J., Lopez, D. & vanEngelsdorp, D. 2016. Multiyear survey targeting disease incidence in US honey bees. Apidologie, 47, 325-347.
