Emergence and host switching in insect picorna-like viruses: wild and managed bee species as a model host community

• Applicant: Professor Dr. Robert Paxton
• Subject Area: Virology ; Animal Breeding, Animal Nutrition, Animal Husbandry
• Term: from 2016 to 2021
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 288222923

Honey bees are important domestic animals because of their pollination services. Recent years have witnessed rising honey bee colony losses, particularly in Central and Northern Europe and North America. A major cause for these losses is thought to be viral diseases, particularly positive single stand RNA viruses of the deformed wing virus (DWV) group. Since the arrival of varroa mites to European and North American honey bees, DWV has risen in prevalence to become an emerging infectious disease (EID) of the honey bee. At the same time, recent evidence demonstrates that wild bees, including bumble bees and solitary bees, have become infected with DWV and related viruses, potentially spilling over from honey bees; these wild bees are also important pollinators. This project uses a combination of field sampling, field and semi-field experiments and laboratory assays to investigate whether the emergence of DWV in honey bees has been accompanied by genetic change in the virus, whether virus is spilling over from honey bees to wild bees, or vice versa, and whether novel viral variants possess elevated virulence or transmission. By examining multiple viruses distributed across multiple hosts, the project will explore mechanisms behind the incipient stages of viral emergence and species switching as well as the consequences of viral emergence for the host community.

• DFG Programme: Priority Programmes
• Subproject of: SPP 1596: Ecology and Species Barriers in Emerging Viral Diseases