Apis mellifera Solinvivirus-1

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Transmission electron micrographs of negatively-stained Solenopsis invicta virus 3 (left and inset below) and Nylanderia fulva virus 1 (right) particles (scale bars = 20 nm). Image credit: Valles and Hashimoto 2009, Valles et al., 2016); U.S. government material as public domain content

Classification

Viruses; Riboviria; Orthornavirae; Pisuviricota; Pisoniviricetes; Picornavirales; Solinviviridae

[Others may be used. Use NCBI link to find]

Species

NCBI: [1]

Apis mellifera Solinvivirus-1

Description and Significance

Apis mellifera is the scientific term for the western honey bee. Solinvivirus-1 is part of the Solinvivirdae family as it is non-segmented, linear, and has positive-sense RNA genomes (Ryabov et al., 2023). Together, this virus is known as Apis mellifera solinvivirus-1(AmSV1) as it was recently discovered in Oregon to impact honey bees after a decade of no evidence. It is a novel RNA virus that causes systemic infections throughout the bees body including the head, thorax, and abdomen. From a geographic and historic distribution analysis, AmSV1 was found to be present in bees apiaries (collection of beehives) as early as 2010. This virus is known to induce honey bee colony losses which can in turn affect pollination services to crops (Brown et al., 2023).

Genome Structure

AmSV1 contains a 10.6 kb RNA positive-strand genomic with a single ORF coding for a polyprotein. This genome is classified to be linear and icosahedral as 180 copies of the jelly-roll structural viral protein subunits form this shell of the particle. This is a virus, so there are no chromosomes present and instead have non-segmented RNA. AmSV1 contains 10,632 nucleotides and the ORF codes for a 3506 amino acid polyprotein (Brown et al., 2023).

Cell Structure, Metabolism and Life Cycle

The capsid proteins in this virus are encoded towards the 3'-end of the poly(A) tail and have covalently attached viral protein linked to the 5'-end. In artificially injected honey bee pupae, this virus is capable of replicating (Ryabov et al., 2023). In a study investigating the virome of U.S. honey bee apiaries, it was found that there was an increase in AmSV1 RNA and accumulation of a single negative strand of AmSV1 in honey bee cells. There is not much evidence or information regarding the metabolism of this virus. However, this virus infects worker bees equally between all three body parts-- head, thorax, and abdomen-- with the highest correlation between the head and thorax. It primarily affects the bees tissues and not digestive tract, which proves that this virus is a systemic infection.This virus does not produce any important molecules(Brown et al., 2023).

Ecology and Pathogenesis

Species within the family Solinviviridae typically infect ants however, over the years they have spread elsewhere, making it a parasitism symbiosis. "AmSV1 showed the highest similarity with the sequence MN918666 from an unknown species and Diabrotica virgifera virus 2." Both of these viruses infect ants but can also infect arthropods, other insects, and shrimp. Solinvivirus is specific to workers of a population, whether that be ants or bees, reflecting replication in honey bee cells. This virus is known to cause honey bee colony losses after a decade of undetection. Apiary losses can in turn affect pollination services to crop production. An understanding of the connection between pathogen loads and apiary health still remains unclear, same with the connection between solinviviruses and their hosts.

References

Brown, K., Olendraite, I., Valles, S., Firth, A., Chen, Y., Guérin, D., Hashimoto, Y., Herrero, S., Miranda, J., Ryabov, E. 2019. “Family: Solinviviridae”. Volume 100. P. 736-737. Link, https://ictv.global/report/chapter/solinviviridae/solinviviridae [11.14.2023]

Ryabov, E., Nearman, A., Nessa, A., Grubbs, K., Sallmann, B., Fahey, R., Wilson, M., Rennich, K., Steinhauer, N., Fauvel, A., Chen, Y., Evans, J., VanEngelsdorp, D., 2023. “Apis mellifera Solinvivirus-1, a Novel Honey Bee Virus That Remained Undetected for over a Decade, Is Widespread in the USA”. Viruses vol. 15(7) 1597. Link, https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10384192/ [11.16.2023]

Author

Page authored by Margo Hinnant, student of Prof. Bradley Tolar at UNC Wilmington.