> Microarray analysis revealed unusual ribosomal RNA fragments that were conspicuously more abundant in the guts of CCD bees. The presence of these fragments may be a possible consequence of picorna-like viral infection.

What does all of this mean? I have tried to simplify this in order that the widest number of people can get a sense of what has been discovered. First, the various studies have gone over honey bees with a fine tooth comb and have not found a smoking gun. This means the various obvious possibilities have all but been ruled out. Which leaves us with either a new or more subtle effect, such as interaction between various factors. The discovery of the RNA fragments is very important, but its importance is hard to explain unless placed in a wider context.

The name Picornavirus is derived from pico meaning small, and RNA referring to the ribonucleic acid genome, so "picornavirus" literally means small RNA virus. Picornaviruses are separated into nine distinct genera and include many important pathogens of humans and animals. The diseases they cause are varied, ranging from acute "common-cold"-like illnesses, to poliomyelitis, to chronic infections in livestock.

Examples of Picornaviruses include; rhinoviruses, enteroviruses (e.g. poliovirus, coxsackievirus, echovirus), cardioviruses (e.g. encephalomyocarditis virus, meningo virus), and hepatoviruses (e.g. hepatitis A virus), among others. These viruses are associated with a wide range of human diseases including summer flu, diarrhea, meningitis, hepatitis, pneumonia, myocarditis, pericarditis, and diabetes. Viruses infect most living organisms.

Viruses are not alive. They consist of genetic material that invades and hijacks living cells, causing them to replicate viral genetic material and create more copies of the virus. According to Bailey, viruses can build up in the brain of honey bees, causing them to begin foraging prematurely and become lost. This behavior is beneficial to both the colony and the virus. By stimulating the hive bees to fly off and scatter, the colony rids itself of the infected bees. In the same manner, the virus can become widely scattered, thus propagating itself over a very broad area. 

Recent work has shown that the honey bee has a much different "immune system" than most other organisms. Chief among the mechanisms used by the colony are cleaning (hygienic behavior) and the expulsion of old, diseased or damaged members. It is quite clear that the colony is really just a support system for the queen, and that the individual members are functioning involuntarily, and under the influence of queen pheromones. Certainly a colony is only as good as its queen and the issue of queen quality needs to be more thoroughly examined. If the queen bee herself is impaired, she may not be able to produce pheromones of sufficient quantity and/or quality to keep the colony running at the optimum, leaving it more susceptible to weakness and collapse.


plb

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