Advances in Honey Bee Viruses Research

Dear Colleagues,

We invite you to contribute to this Special Issue of Viruses, focusing on the recent advancements in the study of honey bee viruses. The global spread of Varroa mites has significantly impacted honey bee health, facilitating the transmission and increasing the virulence of viruses such as the deformed wing viruses (DWVs) or the Acute bee paralysis virus–Kashmir bee virus–Israeli acute paralysis virus complex (AKIC). Novel parasite–virus interactions have influenced virus diversity, distribution, and evolution. Similar or unexpected interactions may arise with other known or yet-to-be-identified viruses. Various nonviral pathogens may exacerbate not only the prevalence but also the severity of viral honey bee diseases, potentially playing a role as cofactors in the development of clinical symptoms. There is still a lot that remains unexplored in the viral ecology of bees, especially with regard to the immune system of honey bees and mites.

Until recently, only 23 honey bee viruses have been known, with few linked to disease symptoms or colony health issues. Rarely have Koch's postulates been fulfilled to establish a direct link between pathogen and disease. However, next-generation sequencing (NGS) technologies have led to the discovery of many more viruses in honey bee samples, although their significance to bee health remains largely unknown. These novel viruses include rhabdoviruses, orthomyxoviruses, bunyaviruses, and even DNA viruses, alongside typical insect viruses from the Picornavirales order from families like Iflaviridae and Dicistroviridae. For many newly identified viruses, isolates are non-existent. Some of these viruses have not been confirmed to replicate in honey bees. Understanding their impact on bee colony health, interactions with parasites, bacteria, and other viruses, will take time and effort. Research and new findings on virus transmission from honey bees to other wild pollinators are particularly challenging and concerning.

The discovery of new viruses, reverse genetic systems for honey bee viruses, permanent cell cultures, and advanced cell biology methods promise rapid progress in understanding honey bee pathogens and diseases. These advancements are expected to identify viral virulence factors, cellular receptor molecules, and honey bee defence mechanisms in the near future.

This Special Issue aims to present and summarize the latest discoveries in basic research and advancements in honey bee virus virology, epidemiology, diagnostics, and control. We seek to highlight recent progress in understanding honey bee virus morphology, genome organization, transmission, and evolution. Additionally, this Special Issue will emphasize viral diseases and epidemics in honey bees, their economic impact on beekeeping, and their environmental and agricultural significance. We hope it will draw attention to these critical topics, enhance collaboration among scientists in the field, and showcase current original research.

Prof. Dr. Benjamin J. Lamp
Dr. Kerstin Seitz
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 250 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for assessment.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-anonymized peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Viruses is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.