Moku virus : a new Iflavirus found in wasps, honey bees and Varroa

Gideon J. Mordecai, Laura E. Brettell, Purnima Pachori, Ethel M. Villalobos, Stephen J. Martin, Ian M. Jones, Declan C. Schroeder

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

57 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

There is an increasing global trend of emerging infectious diseases (EIDs) affecting a wide range of species, including honey bees. The global epidemic of the single stranded RNA Deformed wing virus (DWV), driven by the spread of Varroa destructor has been well documented. However, DWV is just one of many insect RNA viruses which infect a wide range of hosts. Here we report the full genome sequence of a novel Iflavirus named Moku virus (MV), discovered in the social wasp Vespula pensylvanica collected in Hawaii. The novel genome is 10,056 nucleotides long and encodes a polyprotein of 3050 amino acids. Phylogenetic analysis showed that MV is most closely related to Slow bee paralysis virus (SBPV), which is highly virulent in honey bees but rarely detected. Worryingly, MV sequences were also detected in honey bees and Varroa from the same location, suggesting that MV can also infect other hymenopteran and Acari hosts.
Original languageEnglish
Article number34983
Pages (from-to)1-6
Number of pages6
JournalScientific Reports
Volume6
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 2016

Open Access - Access Right Statement

© The Author(s) 2016 This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. The images or other third party material in this article are included in the article’s Creative Commons license, unless indicated otherwise in the credit line; if the material is not included under the Creative Commons license, users will need to obtain permission from the license holder to reproduce the material. To view a copy of this license, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Keywords

  • Varroa destructor
  • diseases
  • honeybee
  • viruses
  • wasps

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