TY - JOUR A1 - McMahon, Dino Peter A1 - Natsopoulou, M. E. A1 - Doublet, V. A1 - Fürst, M. A1 - Weging, S. A1 - Brown, M. J. F. A1 - Gogol-Döring, A. A1 - Paxton, R. J. T1 - Elevated virulence of an emerging viral genotype as a driver of honeybee loss JF - Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences N2 - Emerging infectious diseases (EIDs) have contributed significantly to the current biodiversity crisis, leading to widespread epidemics and population loss. Owing to genetic variation in pathogen virulence, a complete understanding of species decline requires the accurate identification and characterization of EIDs. We explore this issue in the Western honeybee, where increasing mortality of populations in the Northern Hemisphere has caused major concern. Specifically, we investigate the importance of genetic identity of the main suspect in mortality, deformed wing virus (DWV), in driving honeybee loss. Using laboratory experiments and a systematic field survey, we demonstrate that an emerging DWV genotype (DWV-B) is more virulent than the established DWV genotype (DWV-A) and is widespread in the landscape. Furthermore, we show in a simple model that colonies infected with DWV-B collapse sooner than colonies infected with DWV-A. We also identify potential for rapid DWV evolution by revealing extensive genome-wide recombination in vivo. The emergence of DWV-B in naive honeybee populations, including via recombination with DWV-A, could be of significant ecological and economic importance. Our findings emphasize that knowledge of pathogen genetic identity and diversity is critical to understanding drivers of species decline. KW - Virulence KW - Emerging infectious disease KW - Pollinator KW - Decline PY - 2016 UR - https://nbn-resolving.org/urn:nbn:de:kobv:b43-368030 DO - https://doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2016.0811 SN - 0962-8452 VL - 283 IS - 1833 SP - Article 0811, 1 EP - 8 AN - OPUS4-36803 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - JOUR A1 - McMahon, Dino Peter A1 - Fürst, M.A. A1 - Caspar, J. A1 - Theodorou, P. A1 - Brown, M.J.F. A1 - Paxton, R.J. T1 - A sting in the spit: widespread cross-infection of multiple RNA viruses across wild and managed bees JF - Journal of animal ecology N2 - 1.Declining populations of bee pollinators are a cause of concern, with major repercussions for biodiversity loss and food security. RNA viruses associated with honeybees represent a potential threat to other insect pollinators, but the extent of this threat is poorly understood. 2.This study aims to attain a detailed understanding of the current and ongoing risk of emerging infectious disease (EID) transmission between managed and wild pollinator species across a wide range of RNA viruses. 3.Within a structured large-scale national survey across 26 independent sites, we quantify the prevalence and pathogen loads of multiple RNA viruses in co-occurring managed honeybee (Apis mellifera) and wild bumblebee (Bombus spp.) populations. We then construct models that compare virus prevalence between wild and managed pollinators. 4.Multiple RNA viruses associated with honeybees are widespread in sympatric wild bumblebee populations. Virus prevalence in honeybees is a significant predictor of virus prevalence in bumblebees, but we remain cautious in speculating over the principle direction of pathogen transmission. We demonstrate species-specific differences in prevalence, indicating significant variation in disease susceptibility or tolerance. Pathogen loads within individual bumblebees may be high and in the case of at least one RNA virus, prevalence is higher in wild bumblebees than in managed honeybee populations. 5.Our findings indicate widespread transmission of RNA viruses between managed and wild bee pollinators, pointing to an interconnected network of potential disease pressures within and among pollinator species. In the context of the biodiversity crisis, our study emphasizes the importance of targeting a wide range of pathogens and defining host associations when considering potential drivers of population decline. KW - Apis KW - Bombus KW - Decline KW - Pathogen KW - Spillover PY - 2015 DO - https://doi.org/10.1111/1365-2656.12345 SN - 1365-2656 SN - 0021-8790 VL - 84 SP - 615 EP - 624 PB - Wiley-Blackwell CY - Oxford [u.a.] AN - OPUS4-32885 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER -