Honey Bee Queens and Virus Infections

Overview

Journal Viruses

Publisher MDPI

Specialty Microbiology

Date 2020 Mar 21

PMID 32192060

Citations 11

Authors

Esmaeil Amiri

Micheline K Strand

David R Tarpy

Olav Rueppell

Affiliations

Soon will be listed here.

Abstract

The honey bee queen is the central hub of a colony to produce eggs and release pheromones to maintain social cohesion. Among many environmental stresses, viruses are a major concern to compromise the queen's health and reproductive vigor. Viruses have evolved numerous strategies to infect queens either via vertical transmission from the queens' parents or horizontally through the worker and drones with which she is in contact during development, while mating, and in the reproductive period in the colony. Over 30 viruses have been discovered from honey bees but only few studies exist on the pathogenicity and direct impact of viruses on the queen's phenotype. An apparent lack of virus symptoms and practical problems are partly to blame for the lack of studies, and we hope to stimulate new research and methodological approaches. To illustrate the problems, we describe a study on sublethal effects of Israeli Acute Paralysis Virus (IAPV) that led to inconclusive results. We conclude by discussing the most crucial methodological considerations and novel approaches for studying the interactions between honey bee viruses and their interactions with queen health.

Citing Articles

Social and nutritional factors controlling the growth of honey bee (Apis mellifera) queens.

Kama O, Shpigler H PLoS One. 2025; 20(2):e0310608.

PMID: 39999059 PMC: 11856481. DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0310608.

Eggs sampling as an effective tool for identifying the incidence of viruses in honey bees involved in artificial queen rearing.

Domingues C, Simenc L, Toplak I, de Graaf D, Smet L, Verbeke W Sci Rep. 2024; 14(1):9612.

PMID: 38671077 PMC: 11053070. DOI: 10.1038/s41598-024-60135-1.

The Multi-Kingdom Microbiome of Wintering Migratory Birds in Poyang Lake, China.

Liu J, Li X, Song W, Zeng X, Li H, Yang L Viruses. 2024; 16(3).

PMID: 38543762 PMC: 10974949. DOI: 10.3390/v16030396.

Group size influences maternal provisioning and compensatory larval growth in honeybees.

Han B, Amiri E, Wei Q, Tarpy D, Strand M, Xu S iScience. 2023; 26(12):108546.

PMID: 38089582 PMC: 10711493. DOI: 10.1016/j.isci.2023.108546.

Poor Air Quality Is Linked to Stress in Honeybees and Can Be Compounded by the Presence of Disease.

Mayack C, Cook S, Nino B, Rivera L, Nino E, Seshadri A Insects. 2023; 14(8).

PMID: 37623399 PMC: 10455886. DOI: 10.3390/insects14080689.

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