Fuente: PubMed "apis cerana" BMC Vet Res. 2026 Jul 20. doi: 10.1186/s12917-026-05736-w. Online ahead of print.ABSTRACTBACKGROUND: The Chinese sacbrood virus (CSBV) poses a serious threat to the Apis cerana, a major plant and crop pollinator. CSBV primarily infects larvae early in their development causing liquefaction of the larval epidermis preventing normal pupation. Bee larvae can resist viral infection through immune responses, with phenoloxidase (PO) being a key link between host cellular and humoral immunity. It is unknown whether host genes can modulate the PO cascade to affect viral replication. Herein, we performed RNA-Seq on CSBV-infected Apis cerana larvae and identify expression of the gene Peter Pan (AcPPAN), the gene had no significant effect on the development of larvae.RESULTS: After silencing AcPPAN, we found that the immune response of the larvae is suppressed and promoted CSBV replication. Subsequently, we fluorescently labeled copper ions in the larval hemolymph and found that AcPPAN responds to CSBV infection and is involved in limiting virus-induced copper accumulation within the hemolymph.CONCLUSIONS: Our findings indicate that CSBV promotes viral replication in larvae by suppressing AcPPAN expression, elevating hemolymph copper ion concentration, and inhibiting phenoloxidase-mediated antiviral immune responses.PMID:42477720 | DOI:10.1186/s12917-026-05736-w