Varroa destructor changes cuticular hydrocarbons to mimic its new host.

Varroa destructor (Vd) is a honeybee ectoparasite. Its original host is the Asian honeybee, Apis cerana, but it has also become a severe, global threat to the European honeybee, Apis mellifera. Previous studies have shown that Varroa can mimic a host's cuticular hydrocarbons (HC), enabling the parasite to escape the hygienic behaviour of the host honeybees. By transferring mites between the two honeybee species, we further demonstrate that Vd is able to mimic the cuticular HC of a novel host species when artificially transferred to this new host. Mites originally from A. cerana are more efficient than mites from A. mellifera in mimicking HC of both A. cerana and A. mellifera. This remarkable adaptability may explain their relatively recent host-shift from A. cerana to A. mellifera.

狄斯瓦螨（Varroa destructor, Vd）是一种蜜蜂体外寄生虫。其原始宿主为东方蜜蜂（Apis cerana），但如今已对西方蜜蜂（Apis mellifera）构成全球性严重威胁。既往研究显示，狄斯瓦螨能够模拟宿主的表皮碳氢化合物（cuticular hydrocarbons, HC），借此逃避宿主蜜蜂的卫生行为。本研究通过在两种蜜蜂之间转接螨类，进一步证实：当狄斯瓦螨被人工转接至新宿主时，可模拟该新宿主的表皮碳氢化合物。源自东方蜜蜂的螨，在模拟东方蜜蜂与西方蜜蜂的表皮碳氢化合物方面，效率均高于源自西方蜜蜂的螨。这种卓越的适应性或可解释其近期从东方蜜蜂向西方蜜蜂的宿主转移现象。