ants and Chronic-Disease

Detection of Chronic bee paralysis virus (CBPV) is reported for the first time in two species of ants (Camponotus vagus and Formica rufa) and in Varroa destructor. A quantitative real-time PCR (qPCR) method was used to detect and quantify CBPV in infected bees, ants and mites. A minus-strand-specific RT-PCR was used to assess viral replication. These results suggest a new way by which the infection may be spread and other sites of viral persistence in the close apiary environment.

Topics: Animals; Ants; Bees; Chronic Disease; Genome, Viral; Insect Viruses; Mites; Paralysis; Polymerase Chain Reaction; Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction; RNA Viruses; RNA, Viral; Sequence Analysis, DNA; Species Specificity; Virus Replication