Kakugo Virus from Brains of Aggressive Worker Honeybees

Abstract

Publisher Summary This chapter describes the identification and characterization of Kakugo virus and discusses the possible relationship between viral infection and aggressive honeybee behavior. Other animal viruses that are thought to be related to the aggressive behaviors of the host have also been discussed. To examine the relationship between Kakugo virus infection and honeybee aggressive behaviors, it is important to examine what percentage of workers is infected with Kakugo virus. The role of the workers shifts from nursing, guarding, and foraging according to age after eclosion. Kakugo RNA was detected only in the brains of the attackers, but not in those of the nurse bees and foragers, suggesting that the attackers are specifically infected with the Kakugo virus. The body parts of the attackers infected with Kakugo virus were examined and found that Kakugo RNA was present in the brains. These results clearly indicate that there is a close relationship between Kakugo virus presence in the brain and aggressive behavior. Until recently, a few picorna-like viruses were known to infect honeybees. The chapter briefly describes the characteristics of these viruses, especially sacbrood virus and deformed wing virus, and compares their features with those of Kakugo virus.