Deformed wing virus (DWV) is a major pathogen of concern to apiculture, and recent reports have indicated the local predominance and potential virulence of recombinants between DWV and a related virus, Varroa destructor virus 1 (VDV). However, little is known about the frequency and titer of VDV and recombinants relative to DWV generally. In this study, I assessed the relative occurrence and titer of DWV and VDV in public RNA-seq accessions of honey bee using a rapid, kmer-based approach. Three recombinant types were detectable graphically and corroborated by de novo assembly. Recombination breakpoints did not disrupt the capsid-encoding region, consistent with previous reports, and both VDV- and DWV-derived capsids were observed in recombinant backgrounds. High abundance of VDV kmers was largely restricted to recombinant forms. Non-metric multidimensional scaling identified genotypic clusters among DWV isolates, which was corroborated by read mapping and consensus generation. The recently described DWV-C lineage was not detected in the searched accessions. The data further highlight the utility of high-throughput sequencing to monitor viral polymorphisms and statistically test biological predictors of titer, and point to the need for consistent methodologies and sampling schemes.
Citation Information
Publication Year | 2017 |
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Title | Relative abundance of deformed wing virus, Varroa destructor virus 1, and their recombinants in honey bees (Apis mellifera) assessed by kmer analysis of public RNA-Seq data |
DOI | 10.1016/j.jip.2017.07.005 |
Authors | Robert S. Cornman |
Publication Type | Article |
Publication Subtype | Journal Article |
Series Title | Journal of Invertebrate Pathology |
Index ID | 70194203 |
Record Source | USGS Publications Warehouse |
USGS Organization | Fort Collins Science Center |