Fine-scale linkage mapping reveals a small set of candidate genes influencing honey bee grooming behavior in response to Varroa mites.

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. Genotype

SUBMITTER: Arechavaleta-Velasco ME 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3487723 | biostudies-literature | 2012

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature