The comparison of honeybee viral loads for six honeybee viruses (ABPV, BQCV, CBPV, DWV, LSV3 and SBV) in healthy and clinically affected honeybees with TaqMan quantitative real-time RT-PCR assays

Šimenc Kramar, Laura (author), Knific, Tanja (author), Toplak, Ivan (author)

The viral loads of acute bee paralysis virus (ABPV), black queen cell virus (BQCV), chronic bee paralysis virus (CBPV), deformed wing virus (DWV), Lake Sinai virus 3 (LSV3), and sacbrood bee virus (SBV) were determined in samples with the use of quantitative TaqMan real-time reverse transcription and polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR). A total of 108 samples of healthy adult honeybees from four differently located apiaries and samples of honeybees showing different clinical signs of viral infections from 89 apiaries were collected throughout Slovenia. The aim of this study was to discover correlations between viral loads and clinical signs in adult honeybees and confirm previously set threshold viral load levels between healthy and clinically affected honeybees. Within this study, two new RT-qPCR assays for quantification of LSV3 and SBV were developed. Statistically significant differences in viral loads of positive samples were identified between healthy and clinically affected honeybees for ABPV, CBPV, DWV, and SBV, while for BQCV and LSV3, no statistical differences were observed between both groups. Despite high detected LSV3 prevalence and viral loads around 6.00 log$_{10}$ viral copies/bee, this lineage probably has a limited impact on the health status of honeybee colonies. The determined viral loads between 3.94 log$_{10}$ and 13.17 log$_{10}$ in positive samples for six viruses, collected over 10 consecutive months, including winter, present additional information of high viral load variations in healthy honeybee colonies.

• Language: English
• Keywords: honeybees, viral load, monthly sampling, RT-qPCR, prevalence, bees
• Work type: Article
• Typology: 1.01 - Original Scientific Article
• Organization: VF - Veterinary Faculty
• Publication status: Published
• Publication version: Version of Record
• Year: 2021
• Number of pages: 17 str.
• Numbering: Vol. 13, iss. 7, art. 1340
• PID: 20.500.12556/RUL-128772
• UDC: 638:616:578
• ISSN on article: 1999-4915
• DOI: 10.3390/v13071340
• COBISS.SI-ID: 70326275
• Publication date in RUL: 28.07.2021

Record is a part of a journal

• Title: Viruses
• Shortened title: Viruses
• Publisher: MDPI
• ISSN: 1999-4915
• COBISS.SI-ID: 517597977

Licences

• License: CC BY 4.0, Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International
• Link: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
• Description: This is the standard Creative Commons license that gives others maximum freedom to do what they want with the work as long as they credit the author.
• Licensing start date: 11.07.2021

Projects

• Funder: ARRS - Slovenian Research Agency
• Funding programme: Young researchers

• Funder: ARRS - Slovenian Research Agency
• Project number: P4-0092
• Name: Zdravje živali, okolje in varna hrana