Abstract
Emerging infectious diseases are often the products of host shifts, where a pathogen jumps from its original host to a novel species. Viruses in particular cross species barriers frequently. Acute bee paralysis virus (ABPV) and deformed wing virus (DWV) are viruses described in honey bees (Apis mellifera) with broad host ranges. Ants scavenging on dead honey bees may get infected with these viruses via foodborne transmission. However, the role of black garden ants, Lasius niger and Lasius platythorax, as alternative hosts of ABPV and DWV is not known and potential impacts of these viruses have not been addressed yet. In a laboratory feeding experiment, we show that L. niger can carry DWV and ABPV. However, negative-sense strand RNA, a token of virus replication, was only detected for ABPV. Therefore, additional L. niger colonies were tested for clinical symptoms of ABPV infections. Symptoms were detected at colony (fewer emerging workers) and individual level (impaired locomotion and movement speed). In a field survey, all L. platythorax samples carried ABPV, DWV-A and –B, as well as the negative-sense strand RNA of ABPV. These results show that L. niger and L. platythorax are alternative hosts of ABPV, possibly acting as a biological vector of ABPV and as a mechanical one for DWV. This is the first study showing the impact of honey bee viruses on ants. The common virus infections of ants in the field support possible negative consequences for ecosystem functioning due to host shifts.
Highlights
The global alarming decline of the entomofauna may yield consequences for the functioning of natural ecosystems and food security [1,2,3,4], because insects provide key ecosystem services, including pollination, natural pest control and decomposition [5]
Our data show for the first time that ants can display clinical symptoms of honey bee viruses at both an individual and colony level after foodborne transmission
Since foraging ants regularly consume honey bees or other possibly infected food sources, such as V. destructor mites [34], foodborne infections and clinical symptoms are likely to occur in the field, as supported by the field survey
Summary
The global alarming decline of the entomofauna may yield consequences for the functioning of natural ecosystems and food security [1,2,3,4], because insects provide key ecosystem services, including pollination, natural pest control and decomposition [5]. These ecosystem services are of immeasurable economic value and are critical for human welfare, since they include the provision of food and the regulation of water, among many others [6]. RNA viruses are known to cross species barriers frequently due to error-prone replication enabling fast adaptive changes [16,17]
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