Publications

analysis of reference gene stability after israeli acute paralysis virus infection in bumblebees bombus terrestris.	to date, there are no validated internal reference genes for the normalization of rt-qpcr data from virus infection experiments with pollinating insects. in this study we evaluated the stability of five candidate internal reference genes: elongation factor-1-alpha (elf1α), peptidylprolyl isomerase a (ppia), 60s ribosomal protein l23 (rpl23), tata-binding protein (tbp) and polyubiquitin (ubi), in relation to israeli acute paralysis virus (iapv) infection of bombus terrestris. we investigated the ...	2014	24184950
effect of oral infection with kashmir bee virus and israeli acute paralysis virus on bumblebee (bombus terrestris) reproductive success.	israeli acute paralysis virus (iapv) together with acute bee paralysis virus (abpv) and kashmir bee virus (kbv) constitute a complex of closely related dicistroviruses. they are infamous for their high mortality after injection in honeybees. these viruses have also been reported in non-apis hymenopteran pollinators such as bumblebees, which got infected with iapv when placed in the same greenhouse with iapv infected honeybee hives. here we orally infected bombus terrestris workers with different ...	2014	25004171
bee pathogens found in bombus atratus from colombia: a case study.	bombus atratus bumblebees from colombia that were caught in the wild and from breeding programs were screened for a broad set of bee pathogens. we discovered for the first time lake sinai virus and confirmed the infection by other common viruses. the prevalence of apicystis bombi, crithidia bombi and nosema ceranae was remarkably high. according to other studies the former two could have been co-introduced in south america with exotic bumble bees as bombus terrestris or bombus ruderatus. given t ...	2015	26031564
the effect of oral administration of dsrna on viral replication and mortality in bombus terrestris.	israeli acute paralysis virus (iapv), a single-stranded rna virus, has a worldwide distribution and affects honeybees as well as other important pollinators. iapv infection in honeybees has been successfully repressed by exploiting the rna interference (rnai) pathway of the insect's innate immune response with virus-specific double stranded rna (dsrna). here we investigated the effect of iapv infection in the bumblebee bombus terrestris and its tissue tropism. b. terrestris is a common pollinato ...	2015	26110584
in vivo study of dicer-2-mediated immune response of the small interfering rna pathway upon systemic infections of virulent and avirulent viruses in bombus terrestris.	recent studies suggest a potent role of the small interfering rna (sirna) pathway in the control of bee viruses and its usefulness to tackle these viral diseases. however, the involvement of the sirna pathway in the defense against different bee viruses is still poorly understood. therefore, in this report, we comprehensively analyzed the response of the sirna pathway in bumblebees of bombus terrestris to systemic infections of the virulent israeli acute paralysis virus (iapv) and the avirulent ...	2016	26711439
israeli acute paralysis virus associated paralysis symptoms, viral tissue distribution and dicer-2 induction in bumblebee workers (bombus terrestris).	although it is known that israeli acute paralysis virus (iapv) can cause bee mortality, the symptoms of paralysis and the distribution of the virus in different body tissues and their potential to respond with an increase of the sirna antiviral immune system have not been studied. in this project we worked with bombus terrestris, which is one of the most numerous bumblebee species in europe and an important pollinator for wild flowers and many crops in agriculture. besides the classic symptoms o ...	2016	27230225
differential expression pattern of vago in bumblebee (bombus terrestris), induced by virulent and avirulent virus infections.	viruses are one of the main drivers of the decline of domesticated and wild bees but the mechanisms of antiviral immunity in pollinators are poorly understood. recent work has suggested that next to the small interfering rna (sirna) pathway other immune-related pathways play a role in the defense of the bee hosts against viral infection. in addition, vago plays a role in the cross-talk between the innate immune pathways in culex mosquito cells. here we describe the vago orthologue in bumblebees ...	2016	27680717
israeli acute paralysis virus infection leads to an enhanced rna interference response and not its suppression in the bumblebee bombus terrestris.	rna interference (rnai) is the primary antiviral defense system in insects and its importance for pollinator health is indisputable. in this work, we examined the effect of israeli acute paralysis virus (iapv) infection on the rnai process in the bumblebee, bombus terrestris, and whether the presence of possible functional viral suppressors could alter the potency of the host's immune response. for this, a two-fold approach was used. through a functional rnai assay, we observed an enhancement of ...	2016	27999371
infections of virulent and avirulent viruses differentially influenced the expression of dicer-1, ago-1, and micrornas in bombus terrestris.	the microrna (mirna) pathway is well established to be involved in host-pathogen interactions. as key insect pollinators, bees are suffering from widely spreading viruses, especially honeybees and bumblebees. in order to better understand bee-virus interaction, we comparatively analyzed the involvement of the bumblebee mirna pathway upon infection by two different viruses. in our setup, an avirulent infection is induced by slow bee paralysis virus (sbpv) and a virulent infection is induced by is ...	2017	28374846