Distribution and variability of deformed wing virusof honeybees (Apis mellifera) in the Middle East and NorthAfrica

Abstract

Three hundred and eleven honeybee samples from 12 countries in the Mid-dle East and North Africa (MENA) (Jordan, Lebanon, Syria, Iraq, Egypt, Libya, Tunisia,Algeria, Morocco, Yemen, Palestine, and Sudan) were analyzed for the presence of de-formed wing virus (DWV). The prevalence of DWV throughout the MENA region waspervasive, but variable. The highest prevalence was found in Lebanon and Syria, withprevalence dropping in Palestine, Jordan, and Egypt before increasing slightly movingwestwards to Algeria and Morocco Phylogenetic analysis of a 194 nucleotide section ofthe DWV Lp gene did not identify any significant phylogenetic resolution among thesamples, although the sequences did show consistent regional clustering, including an in-teresting geographic gradient from Morocco through North Africa to Jordan and Syria. Thesequences revealed several clear variability hotspots in the deduced amino acid sequence,which furthermore showed some patterns of regional identity. Furthermore, the sequencevariants from the Middle East and North Africa appear more numerous and diverse thanthose from Europe