Phylogenetic analysis of acute bee paralysis virus strains

Abstract

Reverse transcription-PCR assays have been established for a quick, sensitive, and specific diagnosis of acute bee paralysis virus (ABPV), a common virus of the honeybee (Apis mellifera), directly from clinical samples. A 3,071-nucleotide fragment of the ABPV genome, which includes the entire capsid polyprotein gene, was amplified from Austrian, German, Polish, and Hungarian ABPV samples and sequenced, and the sequences were compared. The alignment of a smaller fragment with ABPV sequences from the United States and the United Kingdom revealed nucleotide identity rates between 89 and 96%, respectively. Phylogenetic trees which display the molecular relationship between the viruses of different geographic origin were constructed.

FIG. 1.

Phylogenetic tree illustrating the genetic relationship between European ABPV samples based on a 3,071-nt fragment of the ABPV genome which includes the entire capsid polyprotein gene region (nucleotide positions 6283 to 9353 according to numbering for reference strain AF150629 from the United Kingdom [U.K.]).

FIG. 2.

Phylogenetic tree illustrating the genetic relationship of ABPV isolates from different European countries and from the United States, based on a 401-nt stretch within the capsid protein gene region (nucleotide positions 8121 to 8521 of the ABPV reference strain AF150629 from the United Kingdom [U.K.]).