Virus-specific impacts on honey bee flight performance are mediated by the octopamine pathway.

Octopamine pathway signaling mediates virus-specific effects on honey bee flight performance: OA supplementation rescues DWV-infected bees but reduces performance in SBV-infected bees.

• Why it matters: Colony losses are linked to stressors including viruses, yet it was unclear how virus infection interfaces with the octopamine “fight-or-flight” pathway that supports flight energy and regulation.
• What they did: Honey bees were infected with sacbrood virus (SBV) or deformed wing virus (DWV) and then exposed to octopamine (OA), the OA receptor antagonist epinastine (EP), or both; flight performance and gene expression were measured.
• The result: OA receptor manipulation and transcriptome analyses showed SBV and DWV activate metabolic pathways differently, with SBV linked to higher OA-synthesis gene expression unless treated with OA, enabling mechanistic insight into how viruses may alter foraging and virus transmission.

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