Agroscope, Swiss Bee Research Centre, Schwarzenburgstrasse 161, Bern, 3003, Switzerland.
Agroscope, Animal GenoPhenomics, Rte de la Tioleyre 4, Posieux, 1725, Switzerland.
Anim Genet. 2022 Feb;53(1):156-160. doi: 10.1111/age.13150. Epub 2021 Nov 2.
Recapping of Varroa destructor-infested brood cells is a trait that has recently attracted interest in honey bee breeding to select mite-resistant Apis mellifera colonies. To investigate the genetic architecture of this trait, we evaluated a sample of A. mellifera mellifera colonies (N = 155) from Switzerland and France and performed a genome-wide association study, using a pool of 500 workers per colony for next-generation sequencing. The results revealed that two QTL were significantly (P < 0.05) associated with recapping of V. destructor-infested brood cells. The best-associated QTL is located on chromosome 5 in a region previously found to be associated with grooming behaviour, a resistance trait against V. destructor, in A. mellifera and Apis cerana. The second best-associated QTL is located on chromosome 4 in an intron of the Dscam gene, which is involved in neuronal wiring. Previous research demonstrated that genes involved in neuronal wiring are associated with recapping and varroa sensitive hygiene. Therefore, our study confirms the role of a gene region on chromosome 5 in social immunity and simultaneously provides novel insights into genetic interactions between common mite resistance traits in honey bees.
对瓦螨（Varroa destructor）污染的育雏细胞进行重包封是一种最近在蜜蜂养殖中引起关注的特性，目的是选择对螨虫具有抗性的西方蜜蜂（Apis mellifera）群体。为了研究该特性的遗传结构，我们评估了来自瑞士和法国的一组 A. mellifera mellifera 群体（N=155），并使用每个群体的 500 只工蜂进行了下一代测序的全基因组关联研究。结果表明，有两个 QTL 与瓦螨污染的育雏细胞的重包封显著相关（P<0.05）。最佳关联的 QTL 位于 5 号染色体上，该区域先前与 A. mellifera 和中华蜜蜂（Apis cerana）的梳理行为（一种抗瓦螨的抗性特征）有关。第二个最佳关联的 QTL 位于 4 号染色体上 Dscam 基因的内含子中，该基因参与神经元布线。先前的研究表明，参与神经元布线的基因与重包封和瓦螨敏感卫生习性有关。因此，我们的研究证实了 5 号染色体上一个基因区域在社会免疫中的作用，同时为蜜蜂中常见的螨虫抗性特征之间的遗传相互作用提供了新的见解。
