First molecular detection of Chronic Bee Paralysis Virus (CBPV) in Iran

Among the viruses infecting honey bees, chronic bee paralysis virus (CBPV) is known to induce significant losses in honey bee colonies. CBPV is an unclassified polymorphic single stranded RNA virus. Using RT-PCR, the virus infections in honey bees can be detected in a rapid and accurate manner. Bee samples were collected from 23 provinces of Iran, between July-September 2011 and 2012. A total of 160 apiaries were sampled and submitted for virus screening. RNA extraction and RT-PCR were performed with QIAGEN kits. The primers lead to a fragment of 315 bp. The PCR products were electrophoresed in a 1.2 % agarose gel. Following the RT-PCR reaction with the specific primers, out of the 160 apiaries examined, 12 (7.5 %) were infected with CBPV. This is the first study of CBPV detection in Iranian apiaries. We identified CBPV in the collected samples from different geographic regions of Iran.