Antennae transcriptomics of Varroa-hygienic and Nurse/Forager bees. Apis mellifera

The Varroa mite represents the main threat of honey bees (Apis mellifera). Bees from some colonies can limit the proliferation of this parasite by detecting and removing parasitized brood, such behavior is defined as Varroa sensitive Hygiene (VSH). This is an important issue for selecting colonies that can survive Varroa outbreaks. We therefore study the molecular meachnisms underlying this behavior by comparing the antennae transcriptomic profile of VSH and non-VSH bees. Those profiles were further compared to to the profiles of nurses and forager profiles involved in brood care and food collection, respectively. Overall design: mRNA profiling of bees performing or not Varroa hygienic behavior (4 replicates) and nurse and forager bees (2-3 replicates)Varroa螨（Varroa mite）是西方蜜蜂（Apis mellifera）面临的主要威胁。部分蜂群的蜜蜂可通过识别并移除被寄生的幼虫巢房，抑制该寄生虫的增殖，这一行为被定义为蜂螨敏感卫生行为（Varroa sensitive Hygiene, VSH）。这对于筛选可在蜂螨爆发中存活的蜂群而言是一项重要课题。因此，本研究通过对比VSH型与非VSH型蜜蜂的触角转录组谱，探究该行为背后的分子机制。我们进一步将上述转录组谱与分别参与幼虫抚育与食物采集的保育蜂（nurse bees）、采集蜂（forager bees）的转录组谱进行对比分析。整体实验设计：对表现或未表现出蜂螨卫生行为的蜜蜂开展mRNA转录组分析，每组设置4次生物学重复；同时对保育蜂与采集蜂分别开展相同检测，每组各设置2-3次生物学重复。