A Lake Sinai Virus Variant is Infecting Managed Honey Bee Colonies of Argentina with Varying Degrees of Varroa Destructor Infestation

Abstract

Lake Sinai virus (LSV) is a positive-stranded RNA virus belonging to the Sinaivirus genus. There are a large number of variants discovered across the world, including countries like USA, Spain, China and Australia. Although LSV was first detected in Apis mellifera, it has been detected in solitary bees and in bumble bees as well. The real effect of LSV and its pathology on honeybees remains unknown, but its infection has been linked to poor colony health and Colony Collapse Disorder (CCD). Here we show the presence of the variant LSV-3 in honeybees from different apiaries from six Argentinean Provinces. Our results also demonstrate that in Buenos Aires where the presence of other A. mellifera virus is frequent and high, LSV-3 was not detected. This represents the first detection of this type of honeybee virus (LSV-3) in Argentina.