Whole genome gene expression differences between a coumaphos resistant and susceptible population of Varroa destructor

Coumaphos is an acaricide that is widely used to control Varroa mites in bee colonies. However, the extensive use of coumaphos against Varroa has resulted in the development of coumaphos resistant Varroa populations. In this study, the whole genome gene expression profile of 1) a coumaphos resistant V. destructor population (AN-CR) or 2) a coumaphos resistant V. destructor population pretreated with coumaphos (tAN-CR), was compared to the gene expression profile of a susceptible V. destructor population (ATH-S) using Illumina RNAseq. In total 12 RNA-seq samples (2 populations, ATH-S and AN-CR, with two different treatments for AN-CR; 4 biological replicates per population/treatment) from Varroa destructor, were generated. RNA was collected from adult V. destructor females. For each sample, Illumina mRNA-seq libraries were constructed and stranded, paired-end 125 bp RNA-seq Illumina reads were generated. The obtained reads were used to quantify gene expression in each sample.