Black queen cell virus was originally described in 1977, but its
genome was not
sequenced until 2000. BQCV can currently be found most commonly in
Australia and parts of
South Africa. BQCV visibly affects the
pupae of
queen bees, causing them first to turn yellow and then black, and eventually die. These pupae come from queen bees that seem healthy and show no
symptoms of being infected with this virus, as it only manifests itself with visible symptoms in the larvae. Transmission occurs by a
parasite called
Nosema apis, which lives in the
intestines of honey bees. therefore sanitation is the best way to prevent the spread. Sanitation practices include replacing the
comb of the hive and requeening.
Viral classification Black queen cell virus comes from the order
Picornavirales, which are also known as picorna-like viruses. Families within the
Picornavirales order include
Picornaviridae,
Comoviridae,
Dicistroviridae,
Marnaviridae, and
Sequiviridae. Of these, BQCV belongs to the
Dicistroviridae family, which means that it is a virus that infects
arthropods. The axes are found where the faces come together. Due to these protrusions, BQCV is larger than most other picornaviruses. It is possible to study these viral interactions with host cells because of the ability that scientists have to produce
mutations in the viral genome and analyze the effect that it has on the host cell.
Associated diseases There are many diseases or viruses that can be associated with black queen cell virus. One such disease is Nosema disease. If a honey bee is infected with
Nosema apis, there is a much higher chance that that same bee will contract BQCV. Nosema disease can be treated in infected honey bees with Flumidil-B. Another virus that can be associated with BQCV is
Sacbrood virus. This virus manifests itself with similar symptoms to those of BQCV but it affects the
worker bees of the hive, instead of the queen bee. Black queen cell virus is also similar to a few other viruses within the family
Dicistroviridae.
Kashmir bee virus (KBV),
Israeli acute paralysis virus (IAPV), and
acute bee paralysis virus (ABPV) all are related to BQCV very closely, but all have much less easily defined symptoms. Structurally, BQCV is the most similar to TrV and to
iflaviruses. Iflaviruses also infect insects, just like black queen cell virus. The human viruses that are closest to BQCV include
hepatitis A and human
parechovirus. These are both from the family Picornaviridae and they may “form evolutionary intermediates between human and insect viruses”.
Interactions BQCV interacts with parasites to make the virus more prone to causing
mortality. Parasites, particularly
Varroa destructor, are commonly found in bee colonies that are also infected with viruses. The parasites can activate the virus if it is latent and can also act as a
vector to transmit the virus to other uninfected bees. The results of both of these functions of the parasite in these colonies is the increase of the infectivity and the mortality rate related to the virus. Some members of the family
Dicistroviridae are being used as pest control. Some examples include the control of the
olive fruit fly with CrPV and the control of
Helicoverpa armigera with
Helicoverpa armigera stunt virus. However, black queen cell virus is not used in this way because bee colonies are important to agriculture and to economics. ==References==