Ten years of Deformed Wing Virus (DWV) in Hawaiian honey bees (Apis mellifera), the dominant DWV-A variant is potentially being replaced by variants with a DWV-B coding sequence

Grindrod, IR; Kevill, JL; Villalobos, EM; Schroeder, DC; Martin, SJ

Abstract

The combination of Deformed wing virus (DWV) and Varroa destructor is arguably one of the greatest threats currently facing western honey bees, Apis mellifera. Varroa’s association with DWV has decreased viral diversity and increased loads of DWV within honey bee populations. Nowhere has this been better studied than in Hawaii, where the arrival of Varroa progressively led to the dominance of the single master variant (DWV-A) on both mite-infested Hawaiian Islands of Oahu and Big Island. Now, exactly 10 years following the original study, we find that the DWV population has changed once again, with variants containing the RdRp coding sequence pertaining to the master variant B beginning to co-dominate alongside variants with the DWV-A RdRp sequence on the mite-infested islands of Oahu and Big Island. In speculation, based on other studies, it appears this could represent a stage in the journey towards the complete dominance of DWV-B, a variant that appears better adapted to be transmitted within honey bee colonies.

Citation

Grindrod, I., Kevill, J., Villalobos, E., Schroeder, D., & Martin, S. (2021). Ten years of Deformed Wing Virus (DWV) in Hawaiian honey bees (Apis mellifera), the dominant DWV-A variant is potentially being replaced by variants with a DWV-B coding sequence. Viruses, 13(6), e969. https://doi.org/10.3390/v13060969

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: May 21, 2021
• Publication Date: May 24, 2021
• Deposit Date: May 26, 2021
• Publicly Available Date: May 26, 2021
• Journal: Viruses
• Publisher: MDPI
• Volume: 13
• Issue: 6
• Pages: e969
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.3390/v13060969
• Publisher URL: https://doi.org/10.3390/v13060969
• Related Public URLs: https://www.mdpi.com/journal/viruses
• Additional Information: Additional Information : ** From MDPI via Jisc Publications Router ** Licence for this article: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ **Journal IDs: eissn 1999-4915 **History: published 24-05-2021; accepted 21-05-2021