Varroa destructor changes its cuticular hydrocarbons to mimic new hosts.
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ABSTRACT:
SUBMITTER: Le Conte Y
PROVIDER: S-EPMC4528474 | biostudies-other | 2015 Jun
REPOSITORIES: biostudies-other
Publications
Varroa destructor changes its cuticular hydrocarbons to mimic new hosts.
Le Conte Y Y Huang Z Y ZY Roux M M Zeng Z J ZJ Christidès J-P JP Bagnères A-G AG
Biology letters 20150601 6
Varroa destructor (Vd) is a honeybee ectoparasite. Its original host is the Asian honeybee, Apis cerana, but it has also become a severe, global threat to the European honeybee, Apis mellifera. Previous studies have shown that Varroa can mimic a host's cuticular hydrocarbons (HC), enabling the parasite to escape the hygienic behaviour of the host honeybees. By transferring mites between the two honeybee species, we further demonstrate that Vd is able to mimic the cuticular HC of a novel host spe ...[more]
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