HONEY BEES PLAY A CRITICAL ROLE IN AGRICULTURE, AS A KEY POLLINATOR OF NUMEROUS CROPS AND AS A SOURCE OF INCOME AND HIVE PRODUCTS FOR BEEKEEPERS. HONEY BEES FACE NUMEROUS DISEASE THREATS, BUT VIRUSES TRANSMITTED WITHIN AND ACROSS HONEY BEE COLONIES ARE AMONG THE MOST DAMAGING. THIS PROJECT AIMS TO ADDRESS THE URGENT NEED FOR MORE EFFICIENT AND EFFECTIVE WAYS OF CONTROLLING THE DEFORMED WING VIRUS (DWV), ARGUABLY THE MOST DAMAGING BEE VIRUS. THE PROJECT WILL USE NOVEL TOOLS AND DATA, NAMELY A REVERSE GENETIC SYSTEM FOR DWV, COMBINED WITH ANALYSES OF HONEY BEE GENETIC RESPONSES, TO CONTROL VIRUS INFECTIONS. THIS PROJECT WILL FURTHER INVESTIGATE AND EXPLOIT ANTIVIRAL RNA INTERFERENCE (RNAI), A MECHANISM WHICH PLAYS A MAJOR ROLE IN INSECT DEFENSES AGAINST RNA VIRUSES. FINALLY, THIS PROJECT WILL EXPLORE ALTERNATIVE WAYS FOR DWV CONTROL BASED ON CROSS-PROTECTION SIMILAR TO THAT PROVIDED BY VACCINES. THE OUTCOME WILL BE NEW INSIGHTS INTO BEE BREEDING AND MANAGEMENT INCLUDING FIELD-RELEVANT CONTROL STRATEGIES.