Publication Type
Journal Article
Journal Name
Experimental and Applied Acarology
Publication Date
12-1-2024
Abstract
In this study, we evaluated the role of the gnathosoma (mouthparts) in chemosensing of the most devastating honey bee parasite, Varroa destructor mite. Through transcriptomic analysis, we compared the expression of putative chemosensory genes between the body parts containing the main chemosensory organs (the forelegs), gnathosoma and the rest of the body devoid of these two body parts. Furthermore, we checked the presence of chemosensory-related transcripts in the proteome of the gnathosoma. Our comparative transcriptomic analysis revealed the presence of 83 transcripts with known characteristic conserved domains belonging to eight chemosensory gene families in the three Varroa transcriptomes. Among these transcripts, 11 were significantly upregulated in the mite’s forelegs, compared to 8 and 10 in the gnathosoma and body devoid of both organs, respectively. Whilst the gnathosoma and the forelegs share similar expression of some putative lipid carrier proteins, membrane-bound receptors, and associated proteins, they also differ in the expression profiles of some transcripts belonging to these protein families. This suggests two functional chemosensory organs that may differ in their chemosensory function according to specific characteristics of compounds they detect. Moreover, the higher expression of some chemosensory transcripts in the body devoid of forelegs and gnathosoma compared to the gnathosoma alone, may suggest the presence of additional function of these transcripts or alternatively presence of additional external or internal chemosensory organs. Insights into the functional annotation of a highly expressed gustatory receptor present in both organs using RNA interference (RNAi) are also revealed.
Keywords
Honey bee parasitic mite, Lipid carrier proteins, Membrane-bound receptors and proteins, Sensory organs
PubMed ID
39441431
Funding Statement
We wish to thank Mr. Yosef Kamer and Mr. Assaf Otmy for their dedicated care of the honey bee colonies. This research was funded by the Israel Science Foundation to Victoria Soroker and Ada Rafaeli (No. 1973/18), and the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science - and the Israel Science Foundation joint fund (No. 120208404) to Victoria Soroker and Alexander Mikheyev. The funding agencies had no role in the study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.
Recommended Citation
Nganso, B., Eliash, N., Mani, K., Sela, N., Villar-Briones, A., Osabutey, A., Rafaeli, A., Mikheyev, A., & Soroker, V. (2024). Chemosensory function of Varroa gnathosoma: transcriptomic and proteomic analyses. Experimental and Applied Acarology, 93 (4), 701-719. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10493-024-00952-1