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 --- ::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::