Insights into the viral landscape of the western honey bee and native bees in Bangladesh

Bees are important pollinators that are increasingly threatened by viruses. In this study, we investigated the viruses in honey bees in Bangladesh, focusing on western (<i>Apis mellifera</i>) and native bee species (<i>A. cerana</i>, <i>A. dorsata</i>, <i>A. florea</i>, and <i>Trigona</i> sp.). Using high-throughput poly(A)-selected RNA sequencing, we observed that viruses of the order <i>Picornavirales</i> are frequently detected in both western and native bees. However, this pattern may reflect both true biological abundance and methodological bias, as this approach inherently enriches for polyadenylated RNA viruses. Deformed wing virus (DWV), black queen cell virus (BQCV), and sacbrood virus (SBV) were commonly found in western bees, while native bees exhibited a high diversity of viral communities rather than dominance of specific viruses. The common bee viruses also showed high read abundances in western bees. Notably, the study identified unreported viruses in bees belonging to the Iflaviridae and Dicistroviridae families, expanding the known diversity of honey bee pathogens. In addition, plant-associated viruses were identified, suggesting a potential role for honey bees as vectors of plant viruses and highlighting the interactions between bees, plants, and their pathogens. The results of the diversity analysis demonstrated significant differences in the composition of virus populations between western and native bees in our studied samples. These results reveal the occurrence of bee viruses in Bangladesh and highlight the potential interspecific transmission of viruses, which may pose a significant threat to local bee populations. Our study emphasizes the importance of monitoring known viruses and novel viruses, as well as plant pathogens, and implementing sustainable management practices to reduce the spread of pathogens and protect both native and western bees.IMPORTANCEPollinators face increasing threats from viral pathogens, yet data on their viromes remain limited in many parts of the world, including South Asia. This study provides insights into the viral communities of both native and non-native bee species in Bangladesh using RNA sequencing. While <i>Apis mellifera</i> showed higher viral loads of known honey bee viruses, native bee species exhibited a broader diversity of viral sequences, including several uncharacterized viruses. Although based on a limited sample set, these findings contribute to a growing understanding of viral diversity in pollinators and underscore the value of continued surveillance to better understand virus-host associations and potential cross-species transmission in regions undergoing rapid apicultural expansion.