Dataset Information

Brain metabolomic profiling of eastern honey bee (Apis cerana) infested with the mite Varroa destructor.

ABSTRACT: The mite Varroa destructor is currently the greatest threat to apiculture as it is causing a global decrease in honey bee colonies. However, it rarely causes serious damage to its native hosts, the eastern honey bees Apis cerana. To better understand the mechanism of resistance of A. cerana against the V. destructor mite, we profiled the metabolic changes that occur in the honey bee brain during V. destructor infestation. Brain samples were collected from infested and control honey bees and then measured using an untargeted liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS)-based global metabolomics method, in which 7918 and 7462 ions in ESI+ and ESI- mode, respectively, were successfully identified. Multivariate statistical analyses were applied, and 64 dysregulated metabolites, including fatty acids, amino acids, carboxylic acid, and phospholipids, amongst others, were identified. Pathway analysis further revealed that linoleic acid metabolism; propanoate metabolism; and glycine, serine, and threonine metabolism were acutely perturbed. The data obtained in this study offer insight into the defense mechanisms of A. cerana against V. destructor mites and provide a better method for understanding the synergistic effects of parasitism on honey bee colonies.

SUBMITTER: Wu JL

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5389839 | biostudies-literature | 2017

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Brain metabolomic profiling of eastern honey bee (Apis cerana) infested with the mite Varroa destructor.

Wu Jiang-Li JL Zhou Chun-Xue CX Wu Peng-Jie PJ Xu Jin J Guo Yue-Qin YQ Xue Fei F Getachew Awraris A Xu Shu-Fa SF

PloS one 20170412 4

The mite Varroa destructor is currently the greatest threat to apiculture as it is causing a global decrease in honey bee colonies. However, it rarely causes serious damage to its native hosts, the eastern honey bees Apis cerana. To better understand the mechanism of resistance of A. cerana against the V. destructor mite, we profiled the metabolic changes that occur in the honey bee brain during V. destructor infestation. Brain samples were collected from infested and control honey bees and then ...[more]

PMID: 28403242

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Project description:The ectoparasitic mite Varroa destructor has emerged as the primary pest of domestic honey bees (Apis mellifera). Here we present an initial survey of the V. destructor genome carried out to advance our understanding of Varroa biology and to identify new avenues for mite control. This sequence survey provides immediate resources for molecular and population-genetic analyses of Varroa-Apis interactions and defines the challenges ahead for a comprehensive Varroa genome project.The genome size was estimated by flow cytometry to be 565 Mbp, larger than most sequenced insects but modest relative to some other Acari. Genomic DNA pooled from ~1,000 mites was sequenced to 4.3× coverage with 454 pyrosequencing. The 2.4 Gbp of sequencing reads were assembled into 184,094 contigs with an N50 of 2,262 bp, totaling 294 Mbp of sequence after filtering. Genic sequences with homology to other eukaryotic genomes were identified on 13,031 of these contigs, totaling 31.3 Mbp. Alignment of protein sequence blocks conserved among V. destructor and four other arthropod genomes indicated a higher level of sequence divergence within this mite lineage relative to the tick Ixodes scapularis. A number of microbes potentially associated with V. destructor were identified in the sequence survey, including ~300 Kbp of sequence deriving from one or more bacterial species of the Actinomycetales. The presence of this bacterium was confirmed in individual mites by PCR assay, but varied significantly by age and sex of mites. Fragments of a novel virus related to the Baculoviridae were also identified in the survey. The rate of single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in the pooled mites was estimated to be 6.2 × 10-5 per bp, a low rate consistent with the historical demography and life history of the species.This survey has provided general tools for the research community and novel directions for investigating the biology and control of Varroa mites. Ongoing development of Varroa genomic resources will be a boon for comparative genomics of under-represented arthropods, and will further enhance the honey bee and its associated pathogens as a model system for studying host-pathogen interactions.

Project description:BACKGROUND: The parasitic mite, Varroa destructor, is the most serious pest of the western honey bee, Apis mellifera, and has caused the death of millions of colonies worldwide. This mite reproduces in brood cells and parasitizes immature and adult bees. We investigated whether Varroa infestation induces changes in Apis mellifera gene expression, and whether there are genotypic differences that affect gene expression relevant to the bee's tolerance, as first steps toward unravelling mechanisms of host response and differences in susceptibility to Varroa parasitism. RESULTS: We explored the transcriptional response to mite parasitism in two genetic stocks of A. mellifera which differ in susceptibility to Varroa, comparing parasitized and non-parasitized full-sister pupae from both stocks. Bee expression profiles were analyzed using microarrays derived from honey bee ESTs whose annotation has recently been enhanced by results from the honey bee genome sequence. We measured differences in gene expression in two colonies of Varroa-susceptible and two colonies of Varroa-tolerant bees. We identified a set of 148 genes with significantly different patterns of expression: 32 varied with the presence of Varroa, 116 varied with bee genotype, and 2 with both. Varroa parasitism caused changes in the expression of genes related to embryonic development, cell metabolism and immunity. Bees tolerant to Varroa were mainly characterized by differences in the expression of genes regulating neuronal development, neuronal sensitivity and olfaction. Differences in olfaction and sensitivity to stimuli are two parameters that could, at least in part, account for bee tolerance to Varroa; differences in olfaction may be related to increased grooming and hygienic behavior, important behaviors known to be involved in Varroa tolerance. CONCLUSION: These results suggest that differences in behavior, rather than in the immune system, underlie Varroa tolerance in honey bees, and give an indication of the specific physiological changes found in parasitized bees. They provide a first step toward better understanding molecular pathways involved in this important host-parasite relationship.

Dataset Information

Brain metabolomic profiling of eastern honey bee (Apis cerana) infested with the mite Varroa destructor.

Publications

Brain metabolomic profiling of eastern honey bee (Apis cerana) infested with the mite Varroa destructor.

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