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Research article2023Peer reviewedOpen access

Evolutionarily diverse origins of deformed wing viruses in western honey bees

Hasegawa, Nonno; Techer, Maeva A.; Adjlane, Noureddine; al-Hissnawi, Muntasser Sabah; Antunez, Karina; Beaurepaire, Alexis; Christmon, Krisztina; Delatte, Helene; Dukku, Usman H.; Eliash, Nurit; El-Niweiri, Mogbel A. A.; Esnault, Olivier; Evans, Jay D.; Haddad, Nizar J.; Locke, Barbara; Munoz, Irene; Noel, Gregoire; Panziera, Delphine; Roberts, John M. K.; De la Rua, Pilar;
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Abstract

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 (Apis cerana to Apis mellifera). They provide an opportunity to explore how novel transmission routes shape disease epidemiology. As the principal driver of the spread of deformed wing viruses (mainly DWV-A and DWV-B), varroa infestation has also driven global honey bee health declines. The more virulent DWV-B strain has been replacing the original DWV-A strain in many regions over the past two decades. Yet, how these viruses originated and spread remains poorly understood. Here, we use a phylogeographic analysis based on whole-genome data to reconstruct the origins and demography of DWV spread. We found that, rather than reemerging in western honey bees after varroa switched hosts, as suggested by previous work, DWV-A most likely originated in East Asia and spread in the mid-20th century. It also showed a massive population size expansion following the varroa host switch. By contrast, DWV-B was most likely acquired more recently from a source outside East Asia and appears absent from the original varroa host. These results highlight the dynamic nature of viral adaptation, whereby a vector's host switch can give rise to competing and increasingly virulent disease pandemics. The evolutionary novelty and rapid global spread of these host-virus interactions, together with observed spillover into other species, illustrate how increasing globalization poses urgent threats to biodiversity and food security.

Keywords

varroa; single-stranded RNA viruses; apis; phylogeography

Published in

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America
2023, Volume: 120, number: 26, article number: e2301258120Publisher: NATL ACAD SCIENCES

    Sustainable Development Goals

    SDG3 Good health and well-being
    SDG15 Life on land

    UKÄ Subject classification

    Evolutionary Biology

    Publication identifier

    DOI: https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2301258120

    Permanent link to this page (URI)

    https://res.slu.se/id/publ/126519