Breeding honey bees (Apis mellifera) for resistance to Varroa destructor and viruses: insights into the molecular mechanisms underpinning grooming behavior

Honey bees (Apis mellifera) are social insects with a rich repertoire of behavioural immune responses, including self-grooming behaviour. Self-grooming has shown to be associated with the restrain of the parasitic mite Varroa destructor. To understand the mechanisms behind social immunity, we conducted an RNA sequencing analysis using the brains of worker honey bees collected from colonies selected for low V. destructor population growth (LVG) and from high V. destructor population growth (HVG). The bees were subjected to self-grooming assays and classified as light or intense groomers prior to the analyses.