Behavioral Genetics of the Interactions between Apis mellifera and Varroa destructor.

ABSTRACT: The western honeybee Apis mellifera exhibits a diverse set of adaptations in response to infestations by its most virulent disease-causing agent, the ectoparasitic mite Varroa destructor. In this study, we investigated the effect of honeybee pupae genotype on the expression of four host and parasite traits that are associated with the reproductive phase of the mite in the brood of its host. We first phenotyped cells containing bee pupae to assess their infestation status, their infestation level, the reproductive status of the mites, and the recapping of cells by adult workers. We then genotyped individual pupae with five microsatellites markers to compare these phenotypes across full sister groups. We found that the four phenotypes varied significantly in time but did not across the subfa

SUBMITTER: Beaurepaire A 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6780334 | biostudies-literature | 2019 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature