Salivary Cystatin-L2-like of Varroa destructor Causes Lower Metabolism Activity and Abnormal Development in Apis mellifera Pupae.

ABSTRACT: Varroa destructor injects a salivary secretion into honeybees during their feeding process. The salivary secretion plays a vital role in mite-bee interactions and is the main cause of honeybee illness. To determine the biological function of cystatin-L2-like, one of the components of V. destructor salivary secretion, its gene expression in mites during the reproductive phase and dispersal phase was quantified using RT-qPCR, respectively. Moreover, the E. coli-expressed and -purified cystatin was injected into the white-eyed honeybee pupae, and its effects on the survival, the weight of the newly emerged bee, and the transcriptome were determined. The results showed that cystatin was significantly upregulated in mites during the reproductive phase. Cystatin significantl

SUBMITTER: Zhou H 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10705198 | biostudies-literature | 2023 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature