Selecting honeybees for worker brood that reduces the reproduction of Varroa destructor

Villa, José D.; Danka, Robert G.; Harris, Jeffrey W.

doi:10.1007/s13592-016-0433-y

Cited by 9 publications

(7 citation statements)

References 37 publications

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“…In most cases, it is not even clear whether this survival is due to tolerance by limiting the damage to the host or rather to resistance mechanisms by reducing the reproductive success of the parasite 20 . Despite promising approaches in selective breeding for hygienic behaviour and/ or low mite reproduction 21 , 22 , it seems rather doubtful that tolerance breeding alone will solve the global Varroa problem in the foreseeable future. Therefore, nearly all currently managed bee hives require yearly treatments 8 and it is very likely that this will be further necessary in the coming decades.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Lithium chloride effectively kills the honey bee parasite Varroa destructor by a systemic mode of action

Ziegelmann

Abele

Hannus³

et al. 2018

Sci Rep

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Honey bees are increasingly important in the pollination of crops and wild plants. Recent reports of the weakening and periodical high losses of managed honey bee colonies have alarmed beekeeper, farmers and scientists. Infestations with the ectoparasitic mite Varroa destructor in combination with its associated viruses have been identified as a crucial driver of these health problems. Although yearly treatments are required to prevent collapses of honey bee colonies, the number of effective acaricides is small and no new active compounds have been registered in the past 25 years. RNAi-based methods were proposed recently as a promising new tool. However, the application of these methods according to published protocols has led to a surprising discovery. Here, we show that the lithium chloride that was used to precipitate RNA and other lithium compounds is highly effective at killing Varroa mites when fed to host bees at low millimolar concentrations. Experiments with caged bees and brood-free artificial swarms consisting of a queen and several thousand bees clearly demonstrate the potential of lithium as miticidal agent with good tolerability in worker bees providing a promising basis for the development of an effective and easy-to-apply control method for mite treatment.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Lithium chloride effectively kills the honey bee parasite Varroa destructor by a systemic mode of action

Ziegelmann

Abele

Hannus³

et al. 2018

Sci Rep

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“…Such an effect originating from brood could be a valuable trait to support mite resistance. However, a brood-based effect was not increased reliably in an attempt to select and breed for it (Villa et al 2016).…”

Section: Varroa -Sensitive Hygienementioning

confidence: 96%

Perspectives on hygienic behavior in Apis mellifera and other social insects

Spivak

Danka

2020

Apidologie

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Hygienic behavior in honey bees, Apis mellifera, has been studied for over 80 years with the aim of understanding mechanisms of pathogen and parasite resistance and colony health. This review emphasizes the underlying behavioral mechanisms of hygienic behavior in honey bees and when known, in other social insects. We explore the relationship between honey bee hygienic behavior toward diseased brood and Varroa-parasitized brood (Varroa-sensitive hygiene, VSH); the timing of hygienic removal of diseased, Varroa-infested, and virus-infected brood relative to risk of transmission that can affect colony fitness; and the methods, utility, and odorants associated with different assays used to select colonies for resistance to diseases and Varroa. We also provide avenues for future research that would benefit honey bee health and survivorship.

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“…This may be the case for MNR, for which empirical evidence has demonstrated high inheritance via drones or queens (Harbo and Harris, 1999;Moritz, 1985;Danka et al, 2016;Locke, 2016). However, MNR expression within surviving colonies seems complex, as workers from the same subfamilies do not exhibit the trait homogeneously (Beaurepaire et al, 2019a).…”

Section: Biological Aspectsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Recent evidence also suggests that there may be a brood effect contributing to HYG and VSH (Wagoner et al 2018; although such an effect has been difficult to stabilize through breeding (Villa et al, 2016). We propose here to rename the phenotypic feature of high mite non-reproduction as MNR because it may be derived from both VSH activity and an effect of bee brood (Table 1).…”

Section: Vsh: a Case Study To Illustrate The Temporal Changes In Our mentioning

confidence: 99%

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Honey Bee Survival Mechanisms Against the Parasite <em>Varroa destructor</em>: A Systematic Review of Phenotypic and Genomic Research Efforts

Mondet

Beaurepaire

McAfee³

et al. 2020

Preprint

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The ectoparasitic mite Varroa destructor is the most significant pathological threat to the western honey bee, Apis mellifera, leading to the death of most colonies if left untreated. An alternative approach to chemical treatments is to selectively enhance heritable honey bee traits of resistance or tolerance to the mite through breeding programs, or select for naturally surviving untreated colonies. We conducted a literature review of all studies documenting traits of A. mellifera populations either selectively bred or naturally selected for resistance and tolerance to mite parasitism. This allowed us to conduct an analysis of the diversity, distribution and importance of the traits in different honey bee populations that can survive V. destructor throughout the globe. In a second analysis, we investigated the genetic bases of these different phenotypes by comparing ’omics studies (genomics, transcriptomics, and proteomics) of A. mellifera resistance and tolerance to the parasite. Altogether, this review provides a detailed overview of the current state of the research projects and breeding efforts against the most devastating parasite of A. mellifera. By highlighting the most promising traits of varroa-surviving bees and our current knowledge on their genetic bases, this work will help direct future research efforts and selection programs to control this pest. Additionally, by comparing the diverse populations of honey bees that exhibit the traits, this review highlights the consequences of anthropogenic and natural selection on the interactions between hosts and parasites.

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Selecting honeybees for worker brood that reduces the reproduction of Varroa destructor

Cited by 9 publications

References 37 publications

Lithium chloride effectively kills the honey bee parasite Varroa destructor by a systemic mode of action

Lithium chloride effectively kills the honey bee parasite Varroa destructor by a systemic mode of action

Perspectives on hygienic behavior in Apis mellifera and other social insects

Honey Bee Survival Mechanisms Against the Parasite <em>Varroa destructor</em>: A Systematic Review of Phenotypic and Genomic Research Efforts

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