Thirty-two honeybee (Apis mellifera) colonies were studied in order to detect and measure potential in vivo effects of neonicotinoid pesticides used in cornfields (Zea mays spp) on honeybee health. Honeybee colonies were randomly split on four different agricultural cornfield areas located near Quebec City, Canada. Two locations contained cornfields treated with a seed-coated systemic neonicoti...

Chronic bee paralysis virus (CBPV) causes an infectious and contagious disease of adult honeybees. Here, we report the complete genome sequence of CBPV strain SLO/M92/2010. This is the first published complete genome of CBPV in Apis mellifera carnica, which provides important additional knowledge about the divergence of the CBPV genome.

A virus with picorna-like biophysical properties was isolated from South African honey bees. On the basis of serology, it was identified as an isolate of black queen-cell virus (BQCV). Nucleotide sequence analysis revealed an 8550 nt polyadenylated genome containing two large ORFs. The 5'-proximal ORF (ORF 1) represented 4968 nt while the 3'-proximal ORF (ORF 2) represented 2562 nt. The ORFs we...

Deformed wing virus (DWV) can cause wing deformity and premature death in adult honeybees, although like many other bee viruses, DWV generally persists as a latent infection with no apparent symptoms. Using reverse transcription (RT)-PCR and Southern hybridization, we detected DWV in all life stages of honeybees, including adults with and without deformed wings. We also found DWV in the parasit...

Solitary bees and honey bees from a neighbouring apiary were screened for a broad set of putative pathogens including protists, fungi, spiroplasmas and viruses. Most sampled bees appeared to be infected with multiple parasites. Interestingly, viruses exclusively known from honey bees such as Apis mellifera Filamentous Virus and Varroa destructor Macula-like Virus were also discovered in solitar...

Citation for the published paper: Philippe Blanchard, Sylvain Guillot, Karina Antùnez, Hemma Köglberger, Per Kryger, Joachim R. de Miranda, Stéphanie Franco, Marie-Pierre Chauzat, Richard Thiéry, Magali Ribière. (2014). Development and validation of a real-time twostep RT-qPCR TaqMan (R) assay for quantitation of Sacbrood virus (SBV) and its application to a field survey of symptomatic honey be...

Introduction Varroa destructor Anderson & Trueman (2000) is an ectoparasitic mite which causes severe damage to Apis mellifera populations worldwide. Adult females of V. destructor feed directly on the haemolymph of honey bee pupae and can activate and transmit honeybee viruses. Infestation causes an increased prevalence of bee diseases and colony mortality, resulting in decline of honey produc...

Although overall pollinator populations have declined over the last couple of decades, the honey bee (Apis mellifera) malady, colony collapse disorder (CCD), has caused major concern in the agricultural community. Among honey bee pathogens, RNA viruses are emerging as a serious threat and are suspected as major contributors to CCD. Recent detection of these viral species in bumble bees suggests...

Honey bees collect nectar and pollen to fulfill their nutritional demands. In particular, can influence longevity, the development of hypopharyngeal glands, immune-competence bees. Pollen also mitigate deleterious effects caused by parasitic mite Varroa destructor related deformed wing virus (DWV) infections. It has been shown that V. accelerates physiological behavioral maturation honey influe...

Deformed wing virus (DWV) is considered one of the most damaging pests in honey bees since the spread of its vector, Varroa destructor. In this study, we sequenced the whole genomes of two virus isolates and studied the evolutionary forces that act on DWV genomes. The isolate from a Varroa-tolerant bee colony was characterized by three recombination breakpoints between DWV and the closely relat...