Molecular detection of deformed wing virus, black queen cell virus in honey bees in balıkesir province

Year 2024, Volume: 9 Issue: 1, 254 - 260, 12.06.2024

Zeynep Karapınar , Mehmet Özüiçli

Abstract

Viral infections are among the risk factors affecting the health of honey bees, which are economically and ecologically important insects. These infections cause large-scale colony losses. The primary threat to the well-being of western honey bees (Apis mellifera) is the ectoparasitic mite Varroa destructor, mainly because of its role as a transmitter of viruses. This study aimed to investigate the presence of deformed wing virus (DWV) and black queen cell virus (BQCV) infections, which cause significant colony losses in honey bees, using the reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) method. For this purpose, adult bees were taken from 50 hives by random sampling in three different regions of Balıkesir. As a result of the analysis of the samples, the genome positivity of DWV and BQCV infections was determined to be 86% (43/50) and 24% (12/50), respectively. In the study’s bee colonies, multiple infections with both viruses were found at a rate of 18% (9/50). The results obtained revealed that Varroa was not effectively controlled in the colonies, especially in the last month of spring, and accordingly, that viral diseases may occur due to Varroa infestation in the winter months.

Keywords

apis mellifera, black queen cell virus, RT-PCR, Varroa destructor

Ethical Statement

It has been reported that the Approval of the Local Ethics Committee for Animal Experiments is not required for the study, in accordance with the provisions of Article 4.1 (d) of the ‘Regulation on Working Procedures and Principles of Animal Committees’ published in the Official Gazette No. 28914 on 15.02.2014.

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