| Title: | Honey bee predisposition of resistance to ubiquitous mite infestations |
| Author(s): | Broeckx BJG; De Smet L; Blacquiere T; Maebe K; Khalenkow M; Van Poucke M; Dahle B; Neumann P; Bach Nguyen K; Smagghe G; Deforce D; Van Nieuwerburgh F; Peelman L; de Graaf DC; |
| Address: | "Department of Nutrition, Genetics and Ethology, Ghent University, B-9820, Merelbeke, Belgium. Bart.Broeckx@ugent.be. Department of Biochemistry and Microbiology, Ghent University, B-9000, Ghent, Belgium. Wageningen University & Research, 6708PB, Wageningen, The Netherlands. Department of Plants and Crops, Ghent University, B-9000, Ghent, Belgium. Honeybee Valley, Ghent University, B-9000, Ghent, Belgium. Department of Nutrition, Genetics and Ethology, Ghent University, B-9820, Merelbeke, Belgium. Norwegian Beekeepers Association, NO-2040, Klofta, Norway. Department of Animal and Apicultural Sciences, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, NO-1432, As, Norway. Institute of Bee Health, University of Bern, 3097, Bern, Switzerland. Department of Functional and Evolutionary Entomology, Gembloux Agro-Bio Tech, University of Liege, B-5030, Gembloux, Belgium. Department of Pharmaceutics, Ghent University, B-9000, Ghent, Belgium" |
| DOI: | 10.1038/s41598-019-44254-8 |
| ISSN/ISBN: | 2045-2322 (Electronic) 2045-2322 (Linking) |
| Abstract: | "Host-parasite co-evolution history is lacking when parasites switch to novel hosts. This was the case for Western honey bees (Apis mellifera) when the ectoparasitic mite, Varroa destructor, switched hosts from Eastern honey bees (Apis cerana). This mite has since become the most severe biological threat to A. mellifera worldwide. However, some A. mellifera populations are known to survive infestations, largely by suppressing mite population growth. One known mechanism is suppressed mite reproduction (SMR), but the underlying genetics are poorly understood. Here, we take advantage of haploid drones, originating from one queen from the Netherlands that developed Varroa-resistance, whole exome sequencing and elastic-net regression to identify genetic variants associated with SMR in resistant honeybees. An eight variants model predicted 88% of the phenotypes correctly and identified six risk and two protective variants. Reproducing and non-reproducing mites could not be distinguished using DNA microsatellites, which is in agreement with the hypothesis that it is not the parasite but the host that adapted itself. Our results suggest that the brood pheromone-dependent mite oogenesis is disrupted in resistant hosts. The identified genetic markers have a considerable potential to contribute to a sustainable global apiculture" |
| Keywords: | Animals Bees/genetics/*parasitology/physiology Female Gene Frequency Genetic Variation Host-Parasite Interactions Male Mite Infestations/genetics/parasitology/*veterinary Reproduction Varroidae/genetics/*physiology Exome Sequencing; |
| Notes: | "MedlineBroeckx, Bart J G De Smet, Lina Blacquiere, Tjeerd Maebe, Kevin Khalenkow, Mikalai Van Poucke, Mario Dahle, Bjorn Neumann, Peter Bach Nguyen, Kim Smagghe, Guy Deforce, Dieter Van Nieuwerburgh, Filip Peelman, Luc de Graaf, Dirk C eng Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't England 2019/05/28 Sci Rep. 2019 May 24; 9(1):7794. doi: 10.1038/s41598-019-44254-8" |
