Evolutionarily diverse origins of deformed wing viruses in western honey bees.

Novel transmission routes can allow infectious diseases to spread, often with devastating consequences. Ectoparasitic varroa mites vector a diversity of RNA viruses, having switched hosts from the eastern to western honey bees ( to ). They provide an opportunity to explore how novel transmission routes shape disease epidemiology.

Virus Prevalence in Egg Samples Collected from Naturally Selected and Traditionally Managed Honey Bee Colonies across Europe.

Monitoring virus infections can be an important selection tool in honey bee breeding. A recent study pointed towards an association between the virus-free status of eggs and an increased virus resistance to deformed wing virus (DWV) at the colony level. In this study, eggs from both naturally surviving and traditionally managed colonies from across Europe were screened for the prevalence of different viruses.

Epidemiology of a major honey bee pathogen, deformed wing virus: potential worldwide replacement of genotype A by genotype B.

The western honey bee () is of major economic and ecological importance, with elevated rates of colony losses in temperate regions over the last two decades thought to be largely caused by the exotic ectoparasitic mite and deformed wing virus (DWV), which the mite transmits. DWV currently exists as two main genotypes: the formerly widespread DWV-A and the more recently described and rapidly expanding DWV-B. It is an excellent system to understand viral evolution and the replacement of one viral variant by another.

Host-Parasite Co-Evolution in Real-Time: Changes in Honey Bee Resistance Mechanisms and Mite Reproductive Strategies.

Co-evolution is a major driving force shaping the outcome of host-parasite interactions over time. After host shifts, the lack of co-evolution can have a drastic impact on novel host populations. Nevertheless, it is known that Western honey bee () populations can cope with host-shifted ectoparasitic mites () by means of natural selection.

Bee Viruses: Routes of Infection in Hymenoptera.

Numerous studies have recently reported on the discovery of bee viruses in different arthropod species and their possible transmission routes, vastly increasing our understanding of these viruses and their distribution. Here, we review the current literature on the recent advances in understanding the transmission of viruses, both on the presence of bee viruses in and non- bee species and on the discovery of previously unknown bee viruses. The natural transmission of bee viruses will be discussed among different bee species and other insects.

Diversity and Global Distribution of Viruses of the Western Honey Bee, .

In the past centuries, viruses have benefited from globalization to spread across the globe, infecting new host species and populations. A growing number of viruses have been documented in the western honey bee, . Several of these contribute significantly to honey bee colony losses.