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. 2015 Jan 16;52(2):331–340. doi: 10.1111/1365-2664.12385

Table 1.

Gaps in our knowledge of viral diseases of pollinating insects and future research

Knowledge gaps Further research
Prevalence and infection outside the Apis‐genus Field studies across a broad taxonomic and geographic range verifying both viral presence and infection status
Viral life cycle
  • ‐Transmission routes

  • ‐Transmission through hibernation

Experimental infection studies both in Apis and novel hosts. Genetic studies to confirm results in nature
Virulence
  • ‐Pathogenicity

  • ‐Effect of host‐switching on virulence

Field and experimental studies to identify lethal and sublethal pathogenic effects across species
Disease emergence
  • ‐Which viruses have successfully emerged as novel diseases?

  • ‐What are the epidemiological dynamics in multihost systems?

  • ‐Is it the cause of pollinator declines?

Field and experimental studies to determine whether transmission is maintained within species and whether there are source/sink dynamics in natural multihost systems