Detection and replication of deformed wing virus and black queen cell virus in parasitic mites, Varroa destructor, from Iranian honey bee (Apis mellifera) colonies

Abstract

The parasitic mite Varroa destructor and the viruses it transmits to honey bees (Apis mellifera) are often mentioned as culprits of colony losses. Therefore, surveys are conducted in different countries to determine the presence and distribution of honey bee viruses. In Iran, the information about honey bee viruses is scarce and limited to their presence in honey bees, but has never been reported from V. destructor. We conducted a study for detecting five viruses in samples of V. destructor mites that were collected from 12 apiaries located in the Iranian provinces of Alborz, Ardabil, and Gilan. RT-PCR was used to diagnose the viruses, including deformed wing virus (DWV), black queen cell virus (BQCV), acute bee paralysis virus (ABPV), Israeli acute paralysis virus (IAPV), and Kashmir bee virus (KBV). Several mite samples resulted positive for DWV and BQCV, but all were negative for ABPV, IAPV, and KBV. Minus RNA strands were detected for DWV and BQCV with tagged RT-PCR, indicating viral replication in the mites, which could have implications for honey bee health. This is the first report of BQCV from Iranian honey bee colonies.

Keywords:

• honey bees
• Varroa destructor
• deformed wing virus
• black queen cell virus
• Iran

Acknowledgements

The authors are grateful to Reza and Mehdi Ashrafi-Parchin, Bahman Karimi, Bahman Abedini, Ahmad Yusefipoor and other beekeepers in Alborz, Ardabil, and Gilan provinces who helped us to collect the samples for this study.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interests was reported by the authors.

Additional information

Funding

This study was partially funded by a grant from the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada [grant number 386129389].