Year: 2026
Type: article
Abstract: Cuba is in a unique situation in which it has a large (220,000 managed colonies) and isolated honey bee population due to a 60+ year ban on the importation of bees. Despite this, the ectoparasitic mite Varroa destructor arrived in 1996, and with it came deformed wing virus (DWV). In 2018, an island-wide survey detected varroa and DWV in 91% of colonies. In this study, we conducted a full-virome analysis on some of these samples, along with additional samples collected in 2021. For the first time, we detected two variants of Lake Sinai Virus and confirmed the absence of the normally widespread black queen cell virus in Cuba. We also detected both DWV-A and DWV-B master variants, with DWV-B being the dominant variant. Interestingly, the DWV-B/A recombinant was also detected, indicating that despite Cuba’s isolated nature, the pattern of DWV evolution mirrors that found in the USA and Europe. However, this pattern is not found in neighboring Latin America, China, or Japan, where the DWV-A master variant continues to be dominant. How and why two distinct evolutionary DWV pathways have arisen remain a mystery.
Source: Viruses
DOI: 10.3390/v18010148
Language: English
Subfield: Insect Science
Domain: Life Sciences
Open Access status: gold
Estimated APC paid: $3,137
Funder: Leverhulme Trust
Award: G6892466941
OpenAlex ID: W7125520473