Detection of Sac Brood and Black Queen Cell Viruses from Honeybee Colonies ofJordan Using RT- PCR Technique

The Reverse Transcription-polymerase Chain Reaction (RT-PCR) is an excellent technique for the detection of honeybee viruses. In this study, the presence of Sac Brood Virus (SBV) and Black Queen Cell Virus (BQCV) was demonstrated in 100 samples, collected from Jordanian honeybee colonies by employing RT-PCR. The collected samples represented infected (depopulation, paralysis, or dark coloring), dead, and apparently healthy honeybees of different developmental stages (adult and larvae). SBV was detected in 37% of the samples, whereas BQCV was detected in 5%. Nucleotide sequences of the PCR products from each virus was determined and found to be 433 and 309 nucleotides in SBV and BQCV, respectively. The identities to the Gene Bank were 95% for SBV and 91% for BQCV. This is the first record of BQCV in Jordan.