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Unlabelled: Emerging and reemerging diseases that result from pathogen host shifts are a threat to the health of humans and their domesticates. RNA viruses have extremely high mutation rates and thus represent a significant source of these infectious diseases. In the present study, we showed that a plant-pathogenic RNA virus, tobacco ringspot virus (TRSV), could replicate and produce virions in honeybees, Apis mellifera, resulting in infections that were found throughout the entire body. Additionally, we showed that TRSV-infected individuals were continually present in some monitored colonies. While intracellular life cycle, species-level genetic variation, and pathogenesis of the virus in honeybee hosts remain to be determined, the increasing prevalence of TRSV in conjunction with other bee viruses from spring toward winter in infected colonies was associated with gradual decline of host populations and winter colony collapse, suggesting the negative impact of the virus on colony survival. Furthermore, we showed that TRSV was also found in ectoparasitic Varroa mites that feed on bee hemolymph, but in those instances the virus was restricted to the gastric cecum of Varroa mites, suggesting that Varroa mites may facilitate the spread of TRSV in bees but do not experience systemic invasion. Finally, our phylogenetic analysis revealed that TRSV isolates from bees, bee pollen, and Varroa mites clustered together, forming a monophyletic clade. The tree topology indicated that the TRSVs from arthropod hosts shared a common ancestor with those from plant hosts and subsequently evolved as a distinct lineage after transkingdom host alteration. This study represents a unique example of viruses with host ranges spanning both the plant and animal kingdoms., Importance: Pathogen host shifts represent a major source of new infectious diseases. Here we provide evidence that a pollen-borne plant virus, tobacco ringspot virus (TRSV), also replicates in honeybees and that the virus systemically invades and replicates in different body parts. In addition, the virus was detected inside the body of parasitic Varroa mites, which consume bee hemolymph, suggesting that Varroa mites may play a role in facilitating the spread of the virus in bee colonies. This study represents the first evidence that honeybees exposed to virus-contaminated pollen could also be infected and raises awareness of potential risks of new viral disease emergence due to host shift events. About 5% of known plant viruses are pollen transmitted, and these are potential sources of future host-jumping viruses. The findings from this study showcase the need for increased surveillance for potential host-jumping events as an integrated part of insect pollinator management programs.

The Israeli acute paralysis virus (IAPV) is a significant marker of honeybee colony collapse disorder (CCD). In the present work, we provide the first evidence that Varroa destructor is IAPV replication-competent and capable of vectoring IAPV in honeybees. The honeybees became infected with IAPV after exposure to Varroa mites that carried the virus. The copy number of IAPV in bees was positively correlated with the density of Varroa mites and time period of exposure to Varroa mites. Further, we showed that the mite-virus association could possibly reduce host immunity and therefore promote elevated levels of virus replication. This study defines an active role of Varroa mites in IAPV transmission and sheds light on the epidemiology of IAPV infection in honeybees.

Background: For years, the understanding of the pathogenetic mechanisms that underlie honey bee viral diseases has been severely hindered because of the lack of a cell culture system for virus propagation. As a result, it is very imperative to develop new methods that would permit the in vitro pathogenesis study of honey bee viruses. The identification of virus replication is an important step towards the understanding of the pathogenesis process of viruses in their respective hosts. In the present study, we developed a strand-specific RT-PCR-based method for analysis of Deformed Wing Virus (DWV) replication in honey bees and in honey bee parasitic mites, Varroa Destructor., Results: The results shows that the method developed in our study allows reliable identification of the virus replication and solves the problem of falsely-primed cDNA amplifications that commonly exists in the current system. Using TaqMan real-time quantitative RT-PCR incorporated with biotinylated primers and magnetic beads purification step, we characterized the replication and tissue tropism of DWV infection in honey bees. We provide evidence for DWV replication in the tissues of wings, head, thorax, legs, hemolymph, and gut of honey bees and also in Varroa mites., Conclusion: The strategy reported in the present study forms a model system for studying bee virus replication, pathogenesis and immunity. This study should be a significant contribution to the goal of achieving a better understanding of virus pathogenesis in honey bees and to the design of appropriate control measures for bee populations at risk to virus infections.