First molecular detection of Apis mellifera filamentous virus (AmFV) in honey bees (Apis mellifera) in Argentina

QUINTANA SILVINA; BRASESCO, C.; PORRINI LEONARDO P.; DI GERÓNIMO V; EGUARAS, MARTÍN JAVIER; MAGGI, MATIAS

JOURNAL OF APICULTURAL RESEARCH

INT BEE RESEARCH ASSOC

Año: 2019

0021-8839

Although many honey bee RNA viruses have been correlated with colony declines,little is known regarding the potential role of DNA viruses. Apis mellifera filamentousvirus (AmFV) is a large double stranded DNA virus of honeybees and its prevalenceand relationship with other parasites is poorly known. In the present work we havedescribed a high prevalence of AmFV in Argentinian apiaries, and a retrospectivesurvey of archived honey bee samples revealed that AmFV has been present inArgentina since at least 2006. This is the first report involving AmFV in South America