Virus Is Newest Suspected Bee-Killer

Scientists Say The Israeli Acute Paralysis Virus Is Suspected Of Killing Billions Of Honeybees

(AP)  Scientific sleuths have a new suspect for what's been killing billions of honeybees: a virus previously unknown in the United States.

The scientists report using a novel genetic technique and old-fashioned statistics to identify Israeli acute paralysis virus as the latest potential culprit in the widespread deaths of worker bees, a phenomenon known as colony collapse disorder.

Next up are attempts to infect honeybees with the newfound virus to see if it's indeed a killer.

"At least we have a lead now we can begin to follow. We can use it as a marker and we can use it to investigate whether it does in fact cause disease," said Dr. W. Ian Lipkin, a Columbia University epidemiologist and co-author of the study. Details appear this week in Science Express, the online edition of the journal Science.

Experts stressed that parasitic mites, pesticides and poor nutrition all remain in the lineup of suspects, as does the stress of travel. Beekeepers shuffle bees around the nation throughout the year so they can pollinate crops as they come into bloom. The newfound virus may prove to have added nothing more than insult to the injuries bees already suffer, said several experts unconnected to the study.

"This may be a piece or a couple of pieces of the puzzle, but I certainly don't think it is the whole thing," said Jerry Hayes, chief of the apiary section of the Florida department of agriculture.

Still, surveys of honeybees from decimated colonies turned up traces of the virus nearly every time; bees untouched by the phenomenon were virtually free of it. That means finding the virus should be a red flag that a hive is at risk and merits being quarantined, scientists said.

"The authors themselves recognize it's not a slam dunk, it's correlative. But it's certainly more than a smoking gun - more like a smoking arsenal. It's very compelling," said May Berenbaum, a University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign entomologist.

The mysterious deaths have struck between 50 percent and 90 percent of commercial honeybee hives in the United States, sowing fears about the effects on the more than 90 crops that rely on bees to pollinate them.

Scientists previously have found blasting emptied hives with radiation apparently kills whatever infectious agent that causes the disorder. That has focused their attention on viruses, bacteria and the like, to the exclusion of other noninfectious phenomena, like cell phone interference, also proposed as culprits.

The earliest reports of colony collapse disorder date to 2004, the same year the virus was first described by Israeli virologist Ilan Sela. That also was the year U.S. beekeepers began importing bees from Australia - a practice that had been banned by the Honeybee Act of 1922.

Now, Australia is being eyed as a potential source of the virus. That could turn out to be an ironic twist, since the Australian imports were meant to bolster, not further damage, U.S. bee populations devastated by another scourge, the varroa mite. Meanwhile, officials are discussing reinstating the ban, said the Agriculture Department's top bee scientist, Jeff Pettis.

In the new study, a team of nearly two dozen scientists used the genetic sequencing equivalent of a dragnet to round up suspects. The technique, called pyrosequencing, generates a list of the full repertoire of genes in bees they examined from U.S. hives and directly imported from Australia.

By separating out the bee genes and then comparing the leftover genetic sequences to others detailed in public databases - a move akin to running a suspect's fingerprints - the scientists could pick out every fungus, bacterium, parasite and virus harbored by the bees.

They then looked for each pathogen in bees collected from normal hives and others affected by colony collapse disorder. That statistical comparison showed Israeli acute paralysis virus was strongly associated with the disorder.

The technique is a model for investigating outbreaks of infectious diseases in people too, since it can rapidly pinpoint likely causes, Lipkin said.

Sela, a Hebrew University of Jerusalem professor, said he will collaborate with U.S. scientists on studying how and why the bee virus may be fatal. Preliminary research shows some bees can integrate genetic information from the virus into their own genomes, apparently giving them resistance, Sela said in a telephone interview. Sela added that about 30 percent of the bees he's examined had done so.

Those naturally "transgenic" honeybees theoretically could be propagated to create stocks of virus-resistant insects, Lipkin said.

[fizzal-2009]

Every year the science teacher starts a holocost on to the insect world with thosands of pins and hairspray. Nowonder their just getting out of town. Can,t they just look at the pictures?

[kansas1946]

A virus, huh

This will **** off the congregation of the
Church of Global Warming..
"Hail mother, full of Gore,
thou art blessed amongst liberal idiots"
LOL
********************
I have been following this bee story for about two years, and I don''t recall global warming being suspected as a cause. I am curious though, the earth is warming, there is no credible scientist that denies that, so I can''t for the life of me understand what the argument is about, and why it has anything to do with "liberal" or conservative politics. Whether humans have anything to do with it can be debated, but from what I can tell, all of the fixes suggested are good whether it slows the warming or not. I just don''t understand the name-calling, venom, and political rhetoric, about the weather.

[bobbie19571]

Parinoid much????

[lastdance2]

The - Federal Government - Has been purposely and intentionally killing people in the United States with viruses for Decades

Viruses - Bacterial Agents - Deadly Toxins

Sprayed over - Unknowingly Civilian Populated Areas Purposely injected into the Nation''s Water supply and Food chain

You people forget - April 28, 2007 - ABC News
Perchlorate, a chemical used in rocket fuel, is turning up in The nation''s Food and Water supply.
Centers for Disease Control last year found perchlorate in every single person tested

One of the reports - I became more familiar with - was the report of (07 thu 10 July, 1966:) Federal Agents - Dumping a : Flu Virus - Into the New York subway system. Later reports claimed the : The US Army dumped : The Virus - I tend to believe the Initial and the First reports - Federal Agents dumped the virus.

IE : 1966 July 7-10, The virus Bacillus subtilis was released throughout the New York subway system, Due to the vast number of people exposed it would virtually impossible to identify, let alone prove, any specific health problems resulting directly from this test.

In 1967 - it was rumored - Federal Agents - Dumped a Flu Virus into : The San Francisco - Los Angeles and Sea-Tac Airport''s

Research :
A History Timeline of Population Control
copy and paste (Google)

Today this should be - Considered a : "Terrorist Attack"
But it is not ! !

The Nazis : Performed the same Type of : Medical Experiments.

Lastdance

[zootallures2]

Bomb Israel. The hate our feebees

[Krazcarl]

Thanks anzyron well put we need to help these creatures if we can the book says god gave us dominion that means take care of not extermenate and lets face it were interdependant. Who doesn''t like honey.

[jwhitmann]

FLREASON

Science is based on facts, NOT consensus.

Remember your history,
at one time, it was scientific CONSENSUS that the earth was the center of the universe, and the sun revolved around the earth.

Until a fellow by the name of Copernicus came along and proved the consensus WRONG.




PS

Maybe the dingo''s ate your beebees.

LOL

[jwhitmann]

FLREASON

Science is based on facts, NOT consensus.

Remember your history,
at one time, it was scientific CONSENSUS that the earth was the center of the universe, and the sun revolved around the earth.

Until a fellow by the name of Copernicus came along and proved the consensus WRONG.




PS

Maybe the dingo''s ate your beebees.

LOL

[flreason]

jwhitmann: Your practice of spamming your comments suggests that you think that repetition bolsters the effect your opinion. Instead, it only reinforces the perception that your prejudice is exceeded only by your insecurity.

I''m relieved that a viral source for the problem has been identified--among other factors that aggravated the situation. There aren''t enough natural pollenators to offset the devastating effect their die-off has had on domestic and world agriculture.

I''m also concerned about global warming. I withhold my judgment about whether it''s a natural phenomenon associated with sun cycles, or manmade. The important thing is that there is a consensus that the warming is real. Whatever the cause, we need to deal with the effects to avoid a worldwide dust bowl type of depression.

That''s just common sense--something you seem to overlook in your constant need to attack and smear anyone whose politics don''t agree with yours.

[aznyron-2009]

it is sad I do hope they find a cure for these wonderful little creatures of nature and find it fast we need them more than than need us sadly I see people swat them out of fear leave them be and they will reward you with wonderful flowers ETC of all the insects we need the bees for our survival

[jwhitmann]

A virus, huh


This will **** off the congregation of the
Church of Global Warming..

"Hail mother, full of Gore,
thou art blessed amongst liberal idiots"

LOL

[jwhitmann]

A virus, huh


This will **** off the congregation of the
Church of Global Warming..

"Hail mother, full of Gore,
thou art blessed amongst liberal idiots"

LOL

[jwhitmann]

A virus, huh


This will **** off the congregation of the
Church of Global Warming..

"Hail mother, full of Gore,
thou art blessed amongst liberal idiots"

LOL

[jwhitmann]

A virus, huh


This will **** off the congregation of the
Church of Global Warming..

"Hail mother, full of Gore,
thou art blessed amongst liberal idiots"

LOL

[jwhitmann]

A virus, huh


This will **** off the congregation of the
Church of Global Warming..

"Hail mother, full of Gore,
thou art blessed amongst liberal idiots"

LOL

[jwhitmann]

A virus, huh


This will **** off the congregation of the
Church of Global Warming..

"Hail mother, full of Gore,
thou art blessed amongst liberal idiots"

LOL

[jwhitmann]

A virus, huh


This will **** off the congregation of the
Church of Global Warming..

"Hail mother, full of Gore,
thou art blessed amongst liberal idiots"

LOL

[jwhitmann]

A virus, huh


This will **** off the congregation of the
Church of Global Warming..

"Hail mother, full of Gore,
thou art blessed amongst liberal idiots"

LOL

[rafterman1]

"Hail mother, full of Gore,
thou art blessed amongst liberal idiots"

How pathetic does someone have to be to log in with a fake name? Really sad.

But it''s ironic that liberals are called idiots when it is the neocons denying science. Hilarious.

[drinuk]

We need look no further than GM crops to determine the loss of another of God''s creatures. Monsanto have a hand in this, their evil knows no boundaries.