<i>Varroa destructor</i>
            changes its cuticular hydrocarbons to mimic new hosts

Conte, Yves Le; Zhi, Huang; Roux, Maurice; Zeng, Zhen; Christidès, Jean-Philippe; Bagnères, Anne‐Geneviève

doi:10.1098/rsbl.2015.0233

Cited by 40 publications

(27 citation statements)

References 17 publications

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“…This could be because VSH is a specialized form of HB41 and this specialization is required because the differences between infested and non-infested brood are subtler than for dead and live brood. Indeed, one strategy for mites to evade detection in the colony is to adapt their own cuticle hydrocarbon profile to mimic its host42. Another explanation is that since the healthy control brood was pulled from cells immediately adjacent to the infested pupa, it could be that Varroa -associated compounds transferred through the thin wax wall to the healthy pupae, diminishing the observable differences.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Odorant cues linked to social immunity induce lateralized antenna stimulation in honey bees (Apis mellifera L.)

McAfee

Collins

Madilao

et al. 2017

Sci Rep

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Hygienic behaviour (HB) is a social immunity trait in honey bees (Apis mellifera L.) whereby workers detect, uncap and remove unhealthy brood, improving disease resistance in the colony. This is clearly economically valuable; however, the molecular mechanism behind it is not well understood. The freeze-killed brood (FKB) assay is the conventional method of HB selection, so we compared odour profiles of FKB and live brood to find candidate HB-inducing odours. Surprisingly, we found that significantly more brood pheromone (β-ocimene) was released from FKB. β-ocimene abundance also positively correlated with HB, suggesting there could be a brood effect contributing to overall hygiene. Furthermore, we found that β-ocimene stimulated worker antennae in a dose-dependent manner, with the left antennae responding significantly stronger than right antennae in hygienic bees, but not in non-hygienic bees. Five other unidentifiable compounds were differentially emitted from FKB which could also be important for HB. We also compared odour profiles of Varroa-infested brood to healthy brood and found an overall interactive effect between developmental stage and infestation, but specific odours did not drive these differences. Overall, the data we present here is an important foundation on which to build our understanding the molecular mechanism behind this complex behaviour.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Odorant cues linked to social immunity induce lateralized antenna stimulation in honey bees (Apis mellifera L.)

McAfee

Collins

Madilao

et al. 2017

Sci Rep

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“…Moreover, V. destructor is able to change its cuticular hydrocarbons to mimic the novel host. This plasticity in the ability to mimic host hydrocarbons to reduce host detection likely facilitated the host switch (Le Conte et al, 2015). Overall, demographic facilitation provides the opportunity through propagule pressure, but ecological fitting may help to overcome encounter filters associated with host detection or in-host microhabitat selection, thereby directing the migration to the novel target host.…”

Section: (4) Colonisation Of a Novel Hostmentioning

confidence: 99%

A niche perspective on the range expansion of symbionts

2019

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Range expansion results from complex eco‐evolutionary processes where range dynamics and niche shifts interact in a novel physical space and/or environment, with scale playing a major role. Obligate symbionts (i.e. organisms permanently living on hosts) differ from free‐living organisms in that they depend on strong biotic interactions with their hosts which alter their niche and spatial dynamics. A symbiotic lifestyle modifies organism–environment relationships across levels of organisation, from individuals to geographical ranges. These changes influence how symbionts experience colonisation and, by extension, range expansion. Here, we investigate the potential implications of a symbiotic lifestyle on range expansion capacity. We present a unified conceptual overview on range expansion of symbionts that integrates concepts grounded in niche and metapopulation theories. Overall, we explain how niche‐driven and dispersal‐driven processes govern symbiont range dynamics through their interaction across scales, from host switching to geographical range shifts. First, we describe a background framework for range dynamics based on metapopulation concepts applied to symbiont organisation levels. Then, we integrate metapopulation processes operating in the physical space with niche dynamics grounded in the environmental arena. For this purpose, we provide a definition of the biotope (i.e. living place) specific to symbionts as a hinge concept to link the physical and environmental spaces, wherein the biotope unit is a metapopulation patch (either a host individual or a land fragment). Further, we highlight the dual nature of the symbionts' niche, which is characterised by both host traits and the external environment, and define proper conceptual variants to provide a meaningful unification of niche, biotope and symbiont organisation levels. We also explore variation across systems in the relative relevance of both external environment and host traits to the symbiont's niche and their potential implications on range expansion. We describe in detail the potential mechanisms by which hosts, through their function as biotopes, could influence how some symbionts expand their range – depending on the life history and traits of both associates. From the spatial point of view, hosts can extend symbiont dispersal range via host‐mediated dispersal, although the requirement for among‐host dispersal can challenge symbiont range expansion. From the niche point of view, homeostatic properties of host bodies may allow symbiont populations to become insensitive to off‐host environmental gradients during host‐mediated dispersal. These two potential benefits of the symbiont–host interaction can enhance symbiont range expansion capacity. On the other hand, the central role of hosts governing the symbiont niche makes symbionts strongly dependent on the availability of suitable hosts. Thus, environmental, dispersal and biotic barriers faced by suitable hosts apply also to the symbiont, unless eventual opportunities for host switch...

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“…The brood frames were incubated at 34°C (50% RH) for 9 days after which each cell was opened and mite progenies scored following the method in Le Conte et al . ().…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 97%

“…We assessed the survival of mites at 48 or 72 hpi. If dsRNA injected mites did not show significant reduction in survival, then we assessed whether mite reproduction was affected using an established method (Le Conte et al, 2015). Briefly, recently capped (within 6 h) brood cells from low-mite source colonies were selected as transfer hosts.…”

Section: Varroa Mite Survival and Reproduction Assessmentmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Genes important for survival or reproduction in Varroa destructor identified by RNAi

Huang

Bian

et al. 2017

Insect Science

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The Varroa mite, (Varroa destructor), is the worst threat to honey bee health worldwide. To explore the possibility of using RNA interference to control this pest, we determined the effects of knocking down various genes on Varroa mite survival and reproduction. Double-stranded RNA (dsRNA) of six candidate genes (Da, Pros26S, RpL8, RpL11, RpP0 and RpS13) were synthesized and each injected into Varroa mites, then mite survival and reproduction were assessed. Injection of dsRNA for Da (Daughterless) and Pros26S (Gene for proteasome 26S subunit adenosine triphosphatase) caused a significant reduction in mite survival, with 3.57% ± 1.94% and 30.03% ± 11.43% mites surviving at 72 h post-injection (hpi), respectively. Control mites injected with green fluorescent protein (GFP)-dsRNA showed survival rates of 81.95% ± 5.03% and 82.36 ± 2.81%, respectively. Injections of dsRNA for four other genes (RpL8, RpL11, RpP0 and RpS13) did not affect survival significantly, enabling us to assess their effect on Varroa mite reproduction. The number of female offspring per mite was significantly reduced for mites injected with dsRNA of each of these four genes compared to their GFP-dsRNA controls. Knockdown of the target genes was verified by real-time polymerase chain reaction for two genes important for reproduction (RpL8, RpL11) and one gene important for survival (Pros26S). In conclusion, through RNA interference, we have discovered two genes important for mite survival and four genes important for mite reproduction. These genes could be explored as possible targets for the control of Varroa destructor in the future.

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Varroa destructor changes its cuticular hydrocarbons to mimic new hosts

Cited by 40 publications

References 17 publications

Odorant cues linked to social immunity induce lateralized antenna stimulation in honey bees (Apis mellifera L.)

Odorant cues linked to social immunity induce lateralized antenna stimulation in honey bees (Apis mellifera L.)

A niche perspective on the range expansion of symbionts

Genes important for survival or reproduction in Varroa destructor identified by RNAi

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