Assessing the role of key genes involved in the reproductive success of the honey bee parasite Varroa destructor
The ectoparasite Varroa destructor is the primary global threat to the western honey bee, Apis mellifera. Growing resistance to acaricide-based treatments has spurred interest in alternative control strategies. In this study, we employed a novel and efficient dsRNA delivery method to explore the pot...
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| Format: | info:ar-repo/semantics/artículo |
| Language: | Inglés |
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BioMed Central
2025
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| Online Access: | http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.12123/22891 https://bmcgenomics.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12864-025-11805-5 https://doi.org/10.1186/s12864-025-11805-5 |
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| author | Muntaabski, Irina Salvador, Ricardo Russo, Romina Maria Wulff, Juan Pedro Landi, Lucas Liendo, María Clara Lanzavecchia, Silvia Beatriz Scannapieco, Alejandra Carla |
| author_browse | Landi, Lucas Lanzavecchia, Silvia Beatriz Liendo, María Clara Muntaabski, Irina Russo, Romina Maria Salvador, Ricardo Scannapieco, Alejandra Carla Wulff, Juan Pedro |
| author_facet | Muntaabski, Irina Salvador, Ricardo Russo, Romina Maria Wulff, Juan Pedro Landi, Lucas Liendo, María Clara Lanzavecchia, Silvia Beatriz Scannapieco, Alejandra Carla |
| author_sort | Muntaabski, Irina |
| collection | INTA Digital |
| description | The ectoparasite Varroa destructor is the primary global threat to the western honey bee, Apis mellifera. Growing resistance to acaricide-based treatments has spurred interest in alternative control strategies. In this study, we employed a novel and efficient dsRNA delivery method to explore the potential of RNA interference (RNAi)-based approaches for Varroa control in honey bee colonies. We assessed the effects of silencing six target genes (ptch1, ap-1, larp6, chisal, vg1, and vg6) on mite mortality and reproduction through a semi-field experiment. Gene expression analysis revealed significantly reduced transcript levels in mites treated with dsRNA compared to dsGFP controls, with knockdown efficiencies ranging from 88.6% to 97.2%. Silencing of ptch1, ap-1, and vg1 genes resulted in a significant increase in mite infertility, aligning with their known roles in oocyte maturation and embryogenesis. Additionally, silencing of chisal, previously described as essential for effective Varroa feeding, led to a marked increase in mite mortality. These results highlight promising gene targets for RNAi-based Varroa control strategies. Furthermore, our study provides new insights into the molecular pathways involved in mite reproduction and survival, including Wnt, c-Jun N-terminal kinase, Hedgehog, and apoptosis, paving the way for the development of more effective biotechnological control tools. |
| format | info:ar-repo/semantics/artículo |
| id | INTA22891 |
| institution | Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria (INTA -Argentina) |
| language | Inglés |
| publishDate | 2025 |
| publishDateRange | 2025 |
| publishDateSort | 2025 |
| publisher | BioMed Central |
| publisherStr | BioMed Central |
| record_format | dspace |
| spelling | INTA228912025-07-04T11:47:18Z Assessing the role of key genes involved in the reproductive success of the honey bee parasite Varroa destructor Muntaabski, Irina Salvador, Ricardo Russo, Romina Maria Wulff, Juan Pedro Landi, Lucas Liendo, María Clara Lanzavecchia, Silvia Beatriz Scannapieco, Alejandra Carla Varroa destructor ARN Reproducción Supervivencia Manejo de Parásitos Control de Plagas Virus ARN bicatenario Apis mellifera RNA Reproduction Survival Parasite Control Pest Control dsRNA Viruses The ectoparasite Varroa destructor is the primary global threat to the western honey bee, Apis mellifera. Growing resistance to acaricide-based treatments has spurred interest in alternative control strategies. In this study, we employed a novel and efficient dsRNA delivery method to explore the potential of RNA interference (RNAi)-based approaches for Varroa control in honey bee colonies. We assessed the effects of silencing six target genes (ptch1, ap-1, larp6, chisal, vg1, and vg6) on mite mortality and reproduction through a semi-field experiment. Gene expression analysis revealed significantly reduced transcript levels in mites treated with dsRNA compared to dsGFP controls, with knockdown efficiencies ranging from 88.6% to 97.2%. Silencing of ptch1, ap-1, and vg1 genes resulted in a significant increase in mite infertility, aligning with their known roles in oocyte maturation and embryogenesis. Additionally, silencing of chisal, previously described as essential for effective Varroa feeding, led to a marked increase in mite mortality. These results highlight promising gene targets for RNAi-based Varroa control strategies. Furthermore, our study provides new insights into the molecular pathways involved in mite reproduction and survival, including Wnt, c-Jun N-terminal kinase, Hedgehog, and apoptosis, paving the way for the development of more effective biotechnological control tools. Instituto de Genética Fil: Muntaabski, Irina. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria (INTA). Instituto de Genética; Argentina Fil: Muntaabski, Irina. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria (INTA). Instituto de Agrobiotecnología y Biología Molecular (IABIMO); Argentina Fil: Muntaabski, Irina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentina Fil: Muntaabski, Irina. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Agronomía. Departamento de Producción Animal; Argentina Fil: Salvador, Ricardo. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria (INTA). Instituto de Microbiología y Zoología Agrícola; Argentina 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: Wulff, Juan Pedro. North Carolina State University. Entomology and Plant Pathology; Estados Unidos Fil: Landi, Lucas. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Agronomía. Departamento de Producción Animal; Argentina Fil: Landi, Lucas. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria (INTA). Instituto de Recursos Biológicos; 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: 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 Fil: Scannapieco, Alejandra Carla. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Agronomía. Departamento de Producción Animal; Argentina 2025-07-04T11:39:59Z 2025-07-04T11:39:59Z 2025-07 info:ar-repo/semantics/artículo info:eu-repo/semantics/article info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.12123/22891 https://bmcgenomics.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12864-025-11805-5 1471-2164 https://doi.org/10.1186/s12864-025-11805-5 eng info:eu-repograntAgreement/INTA/2023-PE-L01-I069, Aportes al desarrollo sostenible de la apicultura argentina info:eu-repograntAgreement/INTA/2023-PD-L01-I085, Identificación y caracterización funcional de genes interés biotecnológico para la sostenibilidad productiva y ambiental 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 BioMed Central BMC Genomics 26 : 622 (Julio 2025) |
| spellingShingle | Varroa destructor ARN Reproducción Supervivencia Manejo de Parásitos Control de Plagas Virus ARN bicatenario Apis mellifera RNA Reproduction Survival Parasite Control Pest Control dsRNA Viruses Muntaabski, Irina Salvador, Ricardo Russo, Romina Maria Wulff, Juan Pedro Landi, Lucas Liendo, María Clara Lanzavecchia, Silvia Beatriz Scannapieco, Alejandra Carla Assessing the role of key genes involved in the reproductive success of the honey bee parasite Varroa destructor |
| title | Assessing the role of key genes involved in the reproductive success of the honey bee parasite Varroa destructor |
| title_full | Assessing the role of key genes involved in the reproductive success of the honey bee parasite Varroa destructor |
| title_fullStr | Assessing the role of key genes involved in the reproductive success of the honey bee parasite Varroa destructor |
| title_full_unstemmed | Assessing the role of key genes involved in the reproductive success of the honey bee parasite Varroa destructor |
| title_short | Assessing the role of key genes involved in the reproductive success of the honey bee parasite Varroa destructor |
| title_sort | assessing the role of key genes involved in the reproductive success of the honey bee parasite varroa destructor |
| topic | Varroa destructor ARN Reproducción Supervivencia Manejo de Parásitos Control de Plagas Virus ARN bicatenario Apis mellifera RNA Reproduction Survival Parasite Control Pest Control dsRNA Viruses |
| url | http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.12123/22891 https://bmcgenomics.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12864-025-11805-5 https://doi.org/10.1186/s12864-025-11805-5 |
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