Deformed Wing Virus in Two Widespread Invasive Ants: Geographical Distribution, Prevalence, and Phylogeny.

Chun-Yi Lin,Hung-Wei Hsu,Yu-Shin Nai,Chin-Cheng Scotty Yang,Chih-Chi Lee,Kazuki Tsuji,Chow-Yang Lee

doi:10.3390/v12111309

Abstract

Spillover of honey bee viruses have posed a significant threat to pollination services, triggering substantial effort in determining the host range of the viruses as an attempt to understand the transmission dynamics. Previous studies have reported infection of honey bee viruses in ants, raising the concern of ants serving as a reservoir host. Most of these studies, however, are restricted to a single, local ant population. We assessed the status (geographical distribution/prevalence/viral replication) and phylogenetic relationships of honey bee viruses in ants across the Asia–Pacific region, using deformed wing virus (DWV) and two widespread invasive ants, Paratrechina longicornis and Anoplolepis gracilipes, as the study system. DWV was detected in both ant species, with differential geographical distribution patterns and prevenance levels between them. These metrics, however, are consistent across the geographical range of the same ant species. Active replication was only evident in P. longicornis. We also showed that ant-associated DWV is genetically similar to that isolated from Asian populations of honey bees, suggesting that local acquisition of DWV by the invasive ants may have been common at least in some of our sampled regions. Transmission efficiency of DWV to local arthropods mediated by ant, however, may vary across ant species.

Highlights

Invasive species are a well-recognized source of threat to native communities and have caused a significant loss of biodiversity on a global scale [1]
Payne et al [17] found that deformed wing virus (DWV) is four to five times less prevalent in ants collected from non-apiary sites than those from apiary sites
Dobelmann et al [18] reported that all ant samples that tested positive for DWV were collected only from apiary sites

Summary

Introduction

Invasive species are a well-recognized source of threat to native communities and have caused a significant loss of biodiversity on a global scale [1]. One of the accompanying risks is that some of these invasive species may serve as a reservoir of pathogens when introduced to a new environment. Such novel, newly arriving pathogens can lead to devastating consequences for native species [2]. A notable example is that a parapoxvirus, introduced along with the grey squirrel (Sciurus carolinensis), was shown to contribute to the significant decline of native squirrels (S. vulgaris) in the United. Pathogen spillover occurs when a pathogen is introduced and transmitted from a reservoir population into a naive host population [5]. One striking example is that an ectoparasitic mite, Varroa destructor, has been found to act as a viral vector that significantly increases the prevalence of deformed wing virus (DWV) up to

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