Skip to main content
ARS Home » Northeast Area » Beltsville, Maryland (BARC) » Beltsville Agricultural Research Center » Bee Research Laboratory » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #298270
Title: Israeli acute paralysis virus: epidemiology, pathogenesis and implications for honey bee health and Colony Collapse Disorder (CCD)

Author
item Chen, Yanping - Judy
item Pettis, Jeffery
item Corona, Miguel
item CHEN, WEI PING - National Institutes Of Health (NIH)
item SPIVAK, MARLA - University Of Minnesota
item VISSCHER, KIRK - University Of California
item DeGrandi-Hoffman, Gloria
item BONCRISTIANI, HUMBERTO - University Of North Carolina
item Zhao, Yan
item VANENGELSDORP, DENNIS - University Of Maryland
item DELAPLANE, KEITH - University Of Georgia
item SOLTER, LEELLEN - University Of Illinois
item DRUMMOND, FRANCIS - University Of Maine
item Kramer, Matthew
item LIPKIN, IAN - Columbia University - New York
item PALACIOS, GUSTAVO - George Mason University
item Hamilton, Michele
item Smith Jr, Irving
item HUANG, SHAOKANG - Fujian Agricultural & Forestry University
item ZHENG, HUO QING - Zhejiang University
item LI, JI LIAN - Chinese Academy Of Agricultural Sciences
item ZHANG, XUAN - Yunnan Agricultural University
item ZHOU, AI FEN - University Of Oklahoma
item WU, LI YOU - University Of Oklahoma
item ZHOU, JI ZHONG - University Of Oklahoma
item LEE, MYEONG - National Academy Of Agricultural Science
item TEIXEIRA, ERICA - Agencia Paulista De Tecnologia Dos Agronegocios/saa-Sp
item LI, ZHI GUO - Zhejiang University
item Evans, Jay
item Li, Congjun - Cj

Submitted to: PLoS Pathogens
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 6/6/2014
Publication Date: 7/31/2014
Citation: Chen, Y., Pettis, J.S., Corona, M.V., Chen, W., Spivak, M., Visscher, K.P., Hoffman, G.D., Boncristiani, H., Zhao, Y., Vanengelsdorp, D., Delaplane, K., Solter, L., Drummond, F., Kramer, M.H., Lipkin, I.W., Palacios, G., Hamilton, M.C., Smith Jr, I.B., Huang, S., Zheng, H., Li, J., Zhang, X., Zhou, A., Wu, L., Zhou, J., Lee, M.L., Teixeira, E.W., Li, Z., Evans, J.D., Li, C. 2014. Israeli acute paralysis virus: epidemiology, pathogenesis and implications for honey bee health and Colony Collapse Disorder (CCD). PLoS Pathogens. 10 (7):e1004261. DOI: 10.1371/journal.ppat.1004261.

Interpretive Summary: The mysterious outbreak of honey bee Colony Collapse Disorder (CCD) in the US in 2006-2007 has attracted massive media attention and created great concerns over the effects of various risk factors on bee health. Understanding the factors that are linked to the massive honey bee die off may provide insights for managing similar incidents in the future. We conducted a study to investigate the impacts of a pathogenic virus on honey bee colony losses and developed an innovative strategy to control the bee disease caused by the virus. Our study provides clear evidence about the role of the virus in bee colony losses and emphasizes the importance of controlling parasitic mites Varroa in bee disease management. The knowledge and insights gained from this study will have positive implications for bee disease management that will lead to mitigation of escalating colony losses worldwide.

Technical Abstract: Israeli acute paralysis virus (IAPV) is a widespread RNA virus that was linked with honey bee Colony Collapse Disorder (CCD), the sudden and massive die-off of honey bee colonies in the U.S. in 2006-2007. Here we describe the transmission, prevalence and genetic diversity of IAPV, host transcriptional responses to infections and impacts of IAPV on colony losses. Further, we present RNAi-based strategies for limiting an important mechanism used by IAPV to evade host defenses. These strategies show promise for reducing IAPV impacts on bee health. Our study shows that IAPV is established as a persistent infection in the U.S. honey bee populations, enabled by both horizontal and vertical transmission pathways. While IAPV is not the only culprit responsible for CCD and other colony losses, its ability to cause increased mortality in honey bees is firmly demonstrated. The phenotypic differences in pathology among different strains of IAPV may be due to high levels of standing genetic variation. The JAK-STAT pathway, along with other signaling events such as the mTOR and MAPK pathways, is implicated in antiviral responses by honey bees toward IAPV. The identification of an IAPV-encoded putative suppressor of RNAi, and evidence that silencing this suppressor reduces IAPV replication, indicates a novel therapeutic strategy for limiting IAPV and colony losses due to viral diseases.