Moku virus; a new Iflavirus found in wasps, honey bees and Varroa

Mordecai, G. J., Brettell, L. E., Pachori, P., Villalobos, E. M., Martin, S. J., Jones, I. M. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7738-2516 and Schroeder, D. C. (2016) Moku virus; a new Iflavirus found in wasps, honey bees and Varroa. Scientific reports, 6. 34983. ISSN 2045-2322 doi: 10.1038/srep34983

Abstract/Summary

There is an increasing global trend of emerging infectious diseases (EIDs) affecting a wide range of species, including honey bees. The global epidemic of the single stranded RNA Deformed wing virus (DWV), driven by the spread of Varroa destructor has been well documented. However, DWV is just one of many insect RNA viruses which infect a wide range of hosts. Here we report the full genome sequence of a novel Iflavirus named Moku virus (MV), discovered in the social wasp Vespula pensylvanica collected in Hawaii. The novel genome is 10,056 nucleotides long and encodes a polyprotein of 3050 amino acids. Phylogenetic analysis showed that MV is most closely related to Slow bee paralysis virus (SBPV), which is highly virulent in honey bees but rarely detected. Worryingly, MV sequences were also detected in honey bees and Varroa from the same location, suggesting that MV can also infect other hymenopteran and Acari hosts.

Item Type	Article
URI	https://reading-clone.eprints-hosting.org/id/eprint/67372
Identification Number/DOI	10.1038/srep34983
Refereed	Yes
Divisions	Life Sciences > School of Biological Sciences > Biomedical Sciences
Publisher	Nature Publishing Group
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