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. 2021 Mar;28(3):1548-1556.
doi: 10.1016/j.sjbs.2020.12.035. Epub 2020 Dec 28.

Genetic variability and phylogenetic analysis among strains of deformed wing virus infesting honey bees and other organisms

Hossam Abou-Shaara  1 , Sara AlAshaal  2 , Mohamed Nasser  2 , Omaima Nasif  3 , Sulaiman Alharbi  4
Affiliations

Genetic variability and phylogenetic analysis among strains of deformed wing virus infesting honey bees and other organisms

Hossam Abou-Shaara et al. Saudi J Biol Sci. 2021 Mar.

Abstract

Various viruses can infect honey bees, but deformed wing virus (DWV) is considered the most dangerous virus to them and has role in the sudden decline of bee colonies. This virus has different strains; however, there are no available studies to compare the characteristics of these strains utilizing bioinformatics. In this study, 27 strains of deformed wing virus were analyzed based on their sequences and their genetic relationships. Also, some primers were designed and tested to identify their ability to separate DWV strains. The percentages range from 28.99% to 29.63%, 22.28% to 22.78%, 15.73% to 16.28%, and 31.71% to 32.86% for nucleotides A, G, C, and T, respectively in all strains. The numbers of polymorphic sites as well as nucleotide diversity were highly similar in all strains. Statistical analyses generally showed the absence of high variations between sequences. Also, the phylogenetic tree classified strains into three groups. The network between strains of each group was established and discussed based on their geographical locations. Two groups contained strains from USA and Europe while one group contained strains from Asia. Rapid variations and mutations in the sequences of DWV were suggested. Notably, genetic studies on DWV are lacking in some geographical regions. The variations between strains detected in honey bees and other organisms were discussed. Four primers were designed and tested beside two reference primers. One of the designed primers showed the best results in binding with all DWV strains except one.

Keywords: Apiculture; Bioinformatics; Genetics; Primers; Viruses.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper.

Figures

Fig.1
Fig.1
Nucleotide diversity in the two groups. Pi (1) for first group (DWV1 to DWV13) and Pi (2) for the second group (DWV14 to DWV27). The Pi indicates the average number of nucleotide variations per site between sequences of two groups.
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
The fragments of DWV strains using enzymes available at Genome Compiler.
Fig. 3
Fig. 3
Phylogenetic relationships between DWV strains.
Fig. 4
Fig. 4
The network between DWV strains of group A1. The strains DWV18 and 19 were detected in insects not belong to Apis spp. and marked with circle. The numbers of mutations are presented between parentheses.
Fig. 5
Fig. 5
The network between DWV strains of group A2. The strains DWV2 and DWV 3 were detected in Apis cerana and marked with circle. The numbers of mutations are presented between parentheses.
Fig. 6
Fig. 6
The network between DWV strains of group B. The strains DWV20 and DWV21 were detected in insects not belong to Apis spp. and marked with circle. The numbers of mutations are presented between parentheses.
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