First detection of Lake Sinai virus in honeybees (Apis mellifera) and wild arthropods in Japan

Abstract

Lake Sinai virus (LSV), an RNA virus, is suspected to be associated with poor health in honeybees (Apis mellifera). We examined LSV in 26 specimens of healthy honeybees and 44 specimens of wild arthropods in the Gifu Prefecture, Japan. LSV was found more frequently in honeybee specimens (11/26, 42.3%) than in wild arthropod specimens (1/44, 2.3%) (P<0.01). Phylogenetic and nucleotide sequence analysis revealed two lineages: LSV3 in honeybees, and LSV4 in both honeybees and wild arthropods. To our knowledge, this is the first report of LSV prevalence in honeybees and wild arthropods in Japan.