Genetic characterization of Varroa destructor (Family: Varroidae) prevalent in honeybees (Apis mellifera) in the province of Aydin in Turkey

Abstract

The aim of the present study was to identify the haplotypes of the Varroa destructor mite which infects honeybees (Apis mellifera) in the province of Aydın in Turkey, using two different modified techniques for the mitochondrial Cox1 gene of the mite. In order to confirm the haplotype, two different primer pairs were selected. 376 bp DNA in size was amplified using the first primer pair. SacI restriction enzyme was applied to the amplified products; however, this restriction enzyme did not cut the DNA. 570 bp DNA in size was amplified using the second primer pair. XhoI and SacI restriction enzymes were used for the amplified products. Although, the SacI restriction enzyme did not cut the DNA, the XhoI restriction enzyme cut the amplified DNA into two fragments (bands), with the sizes of 270 and 300 bp two bands 270 and 300 bp. While comparing the results, these bands were found specific for Korean haplotype of V. destructor. In conclusion, all of the 200 samples of V. destructor examined in this study were identified to be the Korean haplotype. Öz: Bu çalışmada; Aydın bölgesinde bal arılarında (Apis mellifera) görülen Varroa destructor'un mitokondriyal Cox1 geninin haplotiplerinin belirlenmesi amacıyla farklı iki teknik modifiye edilerek uygulanmıştır. Haplotip belirlenmesi amacıyla iki farklı primer çifti seçilmiştir. Birinci primer çiftiyle 376 bp büyüklüğünde DNA amplifiye edilmiştir. Amplifiye ürüne SacI restriksiyon enzimi uygulanmış ancak bu restriksiyon enziminin DNA'yı kesmediği görülmüştür. İkinci primer çiftiyle 570 bp büyüklüğünde amplifiye DNA elde edilmiştir. Elde edilen amplifiye DNA'ya XhoI restriksiyon enzimi ve SacI restriksiyon enzimleri uygulanmıştır. Ancak SacI restriksiyon enziminin DNA'yı kesmediği, XhoI restriksiyon enziminin ise elde edilen genomik DNA amplifikasyonunda 270 ve 300 bp büyüklüğünde iki band oluşturduğu saptanmıştır. Sonuçlar karşılaştırıldığında; elde edilen bandların V. destructor Kore haplotipi için spesifik olduğu tespit edilmiştir. Sonuç olarak; V. destructor'un haplotipinin belirlenmesine yönelik yapılan bu araştırmada, incelenen 200 örneğin tamamının V. destructor Kore haplotipi olduğu saptanmıştır.

Geographical distribution of pyrethroid resistance mutations in Varroa destructor across Türkiye and a European overview

“…The comparison of 332 COI sequences analyzed in the present study revealed very high similarity (only 0.06% variation), supporting the evolutionary history of V. destructor . Similar to previous findings in Türkiye (Warrit et al 2004 ; Ayan and Aldemir 2018 ; Koç et al 2021 ), all V. destructor populations investigated in the present study belonged to Korean haplotype. To provide a broader perspective, we conducted a haplotype analysis using over 300 sequences from worldwide populations of Varroa mites (Fig.…”

Amitraz Resistance in French Varroa Mite Populations—More Complex Than a Single-Nucleotide Polymorphism

“…Another switch event occurred around 1957, leading to the creation of a second haplotype, the Japanese haplotype [ 45 ]. Both haplotypes (with a dominance of the Korean haplotype) first colonized the west of their countries of origin [ 46 , 47 , 48 , 49 ] and they are now present all around the world. These host switch events did not occur without any genetic changes.…”