Stimulus-specific gene expression profiles associated with grooming behavior and Varroa destructor resistance in honey bees

Grooming behavior is one of the mechanisms of social immunity in Apis mellifera. This behavior has been proposed as an active strategy of honey bees to restrain the population growth of the ectoparasitic mite Varroa destructor in honey bee colonies. The characterization of honey bee stocks with high...

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Autores principales: Russo, Romina Maria, Pietronave, Hernan Pablo, Conte, Claudia Alejandra, Liendo, María Clara, Basilio, Alicia Mabel, Lanzavecchia, Silvia Beatriz, Scannapieco, Alejandra Carla
Formato: info:ar-repo/semantics/artículo
Lenguaje:Inglés
Publicado: Frontiers Media 2025
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Acceso en línea:http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.12123/22048
https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/bee-science/articles/10.3389/frbee.2024.1441317/full
https://doi.org/10.3389/frbee.2024.1441317
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author Russo, Romina Maria
Pietronave, Hernan Pablo
Conte, Claudia Alejandra
Liendo, María Clara
Basilio, Alicia Mabel
Lanzavecchia, Silvia Beatriz
Scannapieco, Alejandra Carla
author_browse Basilio, Alicia Mabel
Conte, Claudia Alejandra
Lanzavecchia, Silvia Beatriz
Liendo, María Clara
Pietronave, Hernan Pablo
Russo, Romina Maria
Scannapieco, Alejandra Carla
author_facet Russo, Romina Maria
Pietronave, Hernan Pablo
Conte, Claudia Alejandra
Liendo, María Clara
Basilio, Alicia Mabel
Lanzavecchia, Silvia Beatriz
Scannapieco, Alejandra Carla
author_sort Russo, Romina Maria
collection INTA Digital
description Grooming behavior is one of the mechanisms of social immunity in Apis mellifera. This behavior has been proposed as an active strategy of honey bees to restrain the population growth of the ectoparasitic mite Varroa destructor in honey bee colonies. The characterization of honey bee stocks with high grooming behavior is of utmost importance for honey bee breeding programs to set the background for mite resistance biomarker-based selection. In this study, we analyzed the expression level of 11 candidate genes putatively involved in grooming and hygiene behaviors in adult workers from mite-resistant (R) and mite-susceptible (S) honey bee stocks. Heads and bodies of worker bees from both stocks, previously tested for grooming response to two treatments (mite infestation and a paintbrush touch control stimulus) were assessed by qPCR. In the head, R bees exposed to mite infestation showed higher levels of Nrx1 and Dop2 and lower levels of Obp3 than S bees. At the body level, R and S bees differed in the expression levels of Nrx1, Oa1, Obp4, Obp14, Obp16, Obp18, Spf45, CYP9Q3, with no stimulus-specific pattern. Overall, our results suggest the involvement of some of the analyzed genes in the specific response to mite infestation, possibly related to the sensitivity and specificity of the R bee to this stimulus at the head level, while other genes would be involved in the non-specific motor response to irritants at the body level. The present study provides new insights into the characterization of the grooming behavior in a selected honey bee stock and increases the available information on its underlying molecular mechanisms. We discuss the putative functions and use of the assessed genes as potential tools for biomarker-assisted selection and improvement of Varroa mite control strategies in honey bee colonies.
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spelling INTA220482025-04-24T16:17:44Z Stimulus-specific gene expression profiles associated with grooming behavior and Varroa destructor resistance in honey bees Russo, Romina Maria Pietronave, Hernan Pablo Conte, Claudia Alejandra Liendo, María Clara Basilio, Alicia Mabel Lanzavecchia, Silvia Beatriz Scannapieco, Alejandra Carla Apis mellifera Varroa destructor Gene Expression Honey Bees Disease Resistance Expresión Génica Abeja Melífera Resistencia a la Enfermedad Grooming Behavior Comportamiento de Aseo Grooming behavior is one of the mechanisms of social immunity in Apis mellifera. This behavior has been proposed as an active strategy of honey bees to restrain the population growth of the ectoparasitic mite Varroa destructor in honey bee colonies. The characterization of honey bee stocks with high grooming behavior is of utmost importance for honey bee breeding programs to set the background for mite resistance biomarker-based selection. In this study, we analyzed the expression level of 11 candidate genes putatively involved in grooming and hygiene behaviors in adult workers from mite-resistant (R) and mite-susceptible (S) honey bee stocks. Heads and bodies of worker bees from both stocks, previously tested for grooming response to two treatments (mite infestation and a paintbrush touch control stimulus) were assessed by qPCR. In the head, R bees exposed to mite infestation showed higher levels of Nrx1 and Dop2 and lower levels of Obp3 than S bees. At the body level, R and S bees differed in the expression levels of Nrx1, Oa1, Obp4, Obp14, Obp16, Obp18, Spf45, CYP9Q3, with no stimulus-specific pattern. Overall, our results suggest the involvement of some of the analyzed genes in the specific response to mite infestation, possibly related to the sensitivity and specificity of the R bee to this stimulus at the head level, while other genes would be involved in the non-specific motor response to irritants at the body level. The present study provides new insights into the characterization of the grooming behavior in a selected honey bee stock and increases the available information on its underlying molecular mechanisms. We discuss the putative functions and use of the assessed genes as potential tools for biomarker-assisted selection and improvement of Varroa mite control strategies in honey bee colonies. Instituto de Genética Fil: Russo, Romina Maria. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria (INTA). Instituto de Genética; Argentina Fil: Russo, Romina Maria. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria (INTA). Instituto de Agrobiotecnología y Biología Molecular (IABIMO); Argentina Fil: Russo, Romina Maria. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentina Fil: Pietronave, Hernán Pablo. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria (INTA). Estación Experimental Agropecuaria Reconquista; Argentina Fil: Conte, Claudia Alejandra. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria (INTA). Instituto de Genética. Laboratorio de Insectos de Importancia Agronómica; Argentina Fil: Conte, Claudia Alejandra. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria (INTA). Instituto de Agrobiotecnología y Biología Molecular (IABIMO); Argentina Fil: Conte, Claudia Alejandra. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentina Fil: Liendo, María Clara. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria (INTA). Instituto de Genética; Argentina Fil: Liendo, María Clara. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria (INTA). Instituto de Agrobiotecnología y Biología Molecular(IABIMO); Argentina Fil: Liendo, María Clara. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentina Fil: Basilio, Alicia Mabel. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Agronomía. Departamento de Producción Animal. Cátedra de Avicultura, Cunicultura y Apicultura; Argentina Fil: Lanzavecchia, Silvia Beatriz. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria (INTA). Instituto de Genética; Argentina Fil: Lanzavecchia, Silvia Beatriz. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria (INTA). Instituto de Agrobiotecnología y Biología Molecular (IABIMO); Argentina Fil: Lanzavecchia, Silvia Beatriz. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentina Fil: Scannapieco, Alejandra Carla. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria (INTA). Instituto de Genética; Argentina Fil: Scannapieco, Alejandra Carla. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria (INTA). Instituto de Agrobiotecnología y Biología Molecular (IABIMO); Argentina Fil: Scannapieco, Alejandra Carla. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentina 2025-04-24T16:03:00Z 2025-04-24T16:03:00Z 2024-07 info:ar-repo/semantics/artículo info:eu-repo/semantics/article info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.12123/22048 https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/bee-science/articles/10.3389/frbee.2024.1441317/full 2813-5911 https://doi.org/10.3389/frbee.2024.1441317 eng info:eu-repograntAgreement/INTA/2023-PE-L01-I069, Aportes al desarrollo sostenible de la apicultura argentina info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/ Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International (CC BY-NC-SA 4.0) application/pdf Frontiers Media Frontiers in Bee Science 2 : 1441317 (July 2024)
spellingShingle Apis mellifera
Varroa destructor
Gene Expression
Honey Bees
Disease Resistance
Expresión Génica
Abeja Melífera
Resistencia a la Enfermedad
Grooming Behavior
Comportamiento de Aseo
Russo, Romina Maria
Pietronave, Hernan Pablo
Conte, Claudia Alejandra
Liendo, María Clara
Basilio, Alicia Mabel
Lanzavecchia, Silvia Beatriz
Scannapieco, Alejandra Carla
Stimulus-specific gene expression profiles associated with grooming behavior and Varroa destructor resistance in honey bees
title Stimulus-specific gene expression profiles associated with grooming behavior and Varroa destructor resistance in honey bees
title_full Stimulus-specific gene expression profiles associated with grooming behavior and Varroa destructor resistance in honey bees
title_fullStr Stimulus-specific gene expression profiles associated with grooming behavior and Varroa destructor resistance in honey bees
title_full_unstemmed Stimulus-specific gene expression profiles associated with grooming behavior and Varroa destructor resistance in honey bees
title_short Stimulus-specific gene expression profiles associated with grooming behavior and Varroa destructor resistance in honey bees
title_sort stimulus specific gene expression profiles associated with grooming behavior and varroa destructor resistance in honey bees
topic Apis mellifera
Varroa destructor
Gene Expression
Honey Bees
Disease Resistance
Expresión Génica
Abeja Melífera
Resistencia a la Enfermedad
Grooming Behavior
Comportamiento de Aseo
url http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.12123/22048
https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/bee-science/articles/10.3389/frbee.2024.1441317/full
https://doi.org/10.3389/frbee.2024.1441317
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