Molecular Detection and Phylogenetic Analysis of Five Honey Bee Viruses from Wet Pollen in Türkiye

Pollen is important for honey bees and humans to maintain a healthy diet and strong immune system. The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence of honey bee viruses in pollen. One hundred pollen samples were collected from different regions of Türkiye. The seven most devastating viral diseases of honey bees (Black Queen Cell Virus (BQCV), Israeli Acute Paralysis Virus (IAPV), Deformed Wing Virus (DWV), Kashmir Bee Virus (KBV), Acute Bee Paralysis Virus (ABPV), Sacbrood Virus (SBV), Chronic Bee Paralysis Virus (CBPV)) were tested for their presence in pollen using the reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction method. 15% of the pollen samples were identified as positive for five viruses (ABPV, BQCV, DWV, CBPV and KBV). While ABPV was the most common virus in the samples, IABV and SBV were not found. Two viruses (ABPV + KBV and ABPV + CBPV) were detected simultaneously in two pollen samples. The results of this study showed that pollen is a reservoir of honey bee viruses. In addition, the use of pollen instead of live bees taken from the hive for regional detection of viral diseases in honeybees is an important choice to reduce the number of live bees used in experiments.