Sequence recombination and conservation of Varroa destructor virus-1 and deformed wing virus in field collected honey bees (Apis mellifera)

Wang, Hui; Xie, Jiazheng; Shreeve, Tim G.; Ma, Jinmin; Pallett, Denise W.; King, Linda A.; Possee, Robert D.. 2013 Sequence recombination and conservation of Varroa destructor virus-1 and deformed wing virus in field collected honey bees (Apis mellifera). PLoS ONE, 8 (9), e74508. 9, pp. 10.1371/journal.pone.0074508

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Abstract/Summary

We sequenced small (s)RNAs from field collected honeybees (Apis mellifera) and bumblebees (Bombus pascuorum) using the Illumina technology. The sRNA reads were assembled and resulting contigs were used to search for virus homologues in GenBank. Matches with Varroa destructor virus-1 (VDV1) and Deformed wing virus (DWV) genomic sequences were obtained for A. mellifera but not B. pascuorum. Further analyses suggested that the prevalent virus population was composed of VDV-1 and a chimera of 5’-DWV-VDV1-DWV-3’. The recombination junctions in the chimera genomes were confirmed by using RT-PCR, cDNA cloning and Sanger sequencing. We then focused on conserved short fragments (CSF, size > 25 nt) in the virus genomes by using GenBank sequences and the deep sequencing data obtained in this study. The majority of CSF sites confirmed conservation at both between-species (GenBank sequences) and within-population (dataset of this study) levels. However, conserved nucleotide positions in the GenBank sequences might be variable at the within-population level. High mutation rates (Pi>10%) were observed at a number of sites using the deep sequencing data, suggesting that sequence conservation might not always be maintained at the population level. Virus-host interactions and strategies for developing RNAi treatments against VDV1/DWV infections are discussed.

Item Type:	Publication - Article
Digital Object Identifier (DOI):	10.1371/journal.pone.0074508
Programmes:	CEH Topics & Objectives 2009 - 2012 > Biodiversity
UKCEH and CEH Sections/Science Areas:	Reynard
ISSN:	1932-6203
Additional Information. Not used in RCUK Gateway to Research.:	Open access paper - Official URL link provides full text
NORA Subject Terms:	Biology and Microbiology
Date made live:	25 Sep 2013 15:00 +0 (UTC)
URI:	https://nora.nerc.ac.uk/id/eprint/503326

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