FYI

Public release date: 17-Feb-2004

Contact: Jim Sliwa
[log in to unmask]
202-942-9297
American Society for Microbiology

Tips from the Journals of the American Society for Microbiology
VIRUS MAY CAUSE AGGRESSION IN HONEYBEES
An unidentified viral infection may be the cause of aggression in
worker honeybees, say researchers from Japan. Their findings appear in
the February 2004 issue of the Journal of Virology.

While initially trying to pinpoint genes responsible for aggressive
behavior in worker honeybees, the researchers stumbled upon a novel
RNA sequence, which they named Kakugo, that could only be found in the
brains of honeybees that displayed aggressive behavior toward a hornet
decoy. They believe that the RNA is an indicator of a viral infection.

"These results demonstrate that Kakugo RNA is a plus-strand RNA of a
novel picorna-like virus and that the brains of aggressive workers are
infected by this novel virus," say the researchers. "In aggressive
workers, Kakugo RNA was detected in the brain but not in the thorax or
abdomen, indicating a close relation between viral infection in the
brain and aggressive worker behaviors."

(T. Fujiyuki, H. Takeuchi, M. Ono, S. Ohka, T. Sasaki, A. Nomoto, T.
Kubo. 2003. Novel insect picorna-like virus identified in the brains
of aggressive worker honeybees. Journal of Virology, 78. 3:
1093-1100.)

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
-- Visit www.honeybeeworld.com/BEE-L for rules, FAQ and  other info ---
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::