Abstract
Populations of honey bees in North America have been experiencing high annual colony mortality for 15–20 years. Many apicultural researchers believe that introduced parasites called Varroa mites (V. destructor) are the most important factor in colony deaths. One important resistance mechanism that limits mite population growth in colonies is the ability of some lines of honey bees to groom mites from their bodies. To search for genes influencing this trait, we used an Illumina Bead Station genotyping array to determine the genotypes of several hundred worker bees at over a thousand single-nucleotide polymorphisms in a family that was apparently segregating for alleles influencing this behavior. Linkage analyses provided a genetic map with 1,313 markers anchored to genome sequence. Genotypes were analyzed for association with grooming behavior, measured as the time that individual bees took to initiate grooming after mites were placed on their thoraces. Quantitative-trait-locus interval mapping identified a single chromosomal region that was significant at the chromosome-wide level (p<0.05) on chromosome 5 with a LOD score of 2.72. The 95% confidence interval for quantitative trait locus location contained only 27 genes (honey bee official gene annotation set 2) including Atlastin, Ataxin and Neurexin-1 (AmNrx1), which have potential neurodevelopmental and behavioral effects. Atlastin and Ataxin homologs are associated with neurological diseases in humans. AmNrx1 codes for a presynaptic protein with many alternatively spliced isoforms. Neurexin-1 influences the growth, maintenance and maturation of synapses in the brain, as well as the type of receptors most prominent within synapses. Neurexin-1 has also been associated with autism spectrum disorder and schizophrenia in humans, and self-grooming behavior in mice.
Highlights
Ectoparasitic Varroa mites are considered by many to be the greatest threat to honey bee health worldwide
Increased annual mortality rates of North American colonies began about the time that tracheal mites (Acarapis woodii) and Varroa mites (V. destructor) first became established in the U.S [1]
GB10440 and GB10743, are predicted to code for short proteins consisting of 80 and 242 amino acids, respectively, with high homology to proteins annotated in the bumble bee as ataxin-10 like
Summary
Ectoparasitic Varroa mites are considered by many to be the greatest threat to honey bee health worldwide. Varroa destructor switched hosts from Asian honey bees (Apis cerana) to the species commonly used for honey production and pollination worldwide (A. mellifera), about 60 years ago. Female Varroa mites lay their eggs within sealed brood cells in which bee larvae go through metamorphosis prior to emerging as adults. The mite progeny must mature and mate within the brood cell before the bee emerges for the mite to successfully reproduce. All honey bee colonies are infested with Varroa and unless steps are taken to reduce mite levels, colonies usually die within six months to two years, exhibiting dwindling populations and symptoms of viral and brood diseases [2]
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