Honey bee viruses are highly prevalent but at low intensities in wild pollinators of cucurbit agroecosystems

Laura J Jones; Ryan P Ford; Rudolf J Schilder; Margarita M López-Uribe

doi:10.1016/j.jip.2021.107667

Honey bee viruses are highly prevalent but at low intensities in wild pollinators of cucurbit agroecosystems

J Invertebr Pathol. 2021 Oct:185:107667. doi: 10.1016/j.jip.2021.107667. Epub 2021 Sep 22.

Authors

Laura J Jones¹, Ryan P Ford², Rudolf J Schilder³, Margarita M López-Uribe⁴

Affiliations

¹ Intercollege Graduate Degree Program in Ecology, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA 16802, USA; Department of Entomology, Center for Pollinator Research, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA, 16802, USA. Electronic address: ljj33@psu.edu.
² Department of Entomology, Center for Pollinator Research, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA, 16802, USA; Department of Plant Science, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA 16802, USA.
³ Intercollege Graduate Degree Program in Ecology, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA 16802, USA; Department of Entomology, Center for Pollinator Research, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA, 16802, USA; Department of Biology, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA 16802, USA.
⁴ Intercollege Graduate Degree Program in Ecology, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA 16802, USA; Department of Entomology, Center for Pollinator Research, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA, 16802, USA. Electronic address: mml64@psu.edu.

PMID: 34560106
DOI: 10.1016/j.jip.2021.107667

Abstract

Managed and wild bee populations are in decline around the globe due to several biotic and abiotic stressors. Pathogenic viruses associated with the Western honey bee (Apis mellifera) have been identified as key contributors to losses of managed honey bee colonies, and are known to be transmitted to wild bee populations through shared floral resources. However, little is known about the prevalence and intensity of these viruses in wild bee populations, or how bee visitation to flowers impacts viral transmission in agroecosystems. This study surveyed honey bee, bumble bee (Bombus impatiens) and wild squash bee (Eucera (Peponapis) pruinosa) populations in Cucurbita agroecosystems across Pennsylvania (USA) for the prevalence and intensity of five honey bee viruses: acute bee paralysis virus (ABPV), deformed wing virus (DWV), Israeli acute paralysis virus (IAPV), Kashmir bee virus (KBV), and slow bee paralysis virus (SBPV). We investigated the potential role of bee visitation rate to flowers on DWV intensity among species in the pollinator community, with the expectation that increased bee visitation to flowers would increase the opportunity for transmission events between host species. We found that honey bee viruses are highly prevalent but in lower titers in wild E. pruinosa and B. impatiens than in A. mellifera populations throughout Pennsylvania (USA). DWV was detected in 88% of B. impatiens, 48% of E. pruinosa, and 95% of A. mellifera. IAPV was detected in 5% of B. impatiens and 4% of E. pruinosa, compared to 9% in A. mellifera. KBV was detected in 1% of B. impatiens and 5% of E. pruinosa, compared to 32% in A. mellifera. Our results indicate that DWV titers are not correlated with bee visitation in Cucurbita fields. The potential fitness impacts of these low viral titers detected in E. pruinosa remain to be investigated.

Keywords: Agroecosystem; Deformed wing virus; Honey bee; Pollinator; Virus; Wild bee.

Publication types

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't
Research Support, U.S. Gov't, Non-P.H.S.

MeSH terms

Animals
Bees / virology*
Crops, Agricultural
Cucurbita
Dicistroviridae / physiology
Insect Viruses / physiology*
Pennsylvania
Pollination
Positive-Strand RNA Viruses / physiology*
RNA Viruses / physiology
Species Specificity

Supplementary concepts

Acute bee paralysis virus
Deformed wing virus
Kashmir bee virus