Kunc Martin, Dobeš Pavel, Ward Rachel, Lee Saetbyeol, Čegan Radim, Dostálková Silvie, Holušová Kateřina, Hurychová Jana, Eliáš Sara, Pinďáková Eliška, Čukanová Eliška, Prodělalová Jana, Petřivalský Marek, Danihlík Jiří, Havlík Jaroslav, Hobza Roman, Kavanagh Kevin, Hyršl Pavel
Department of Experimental Biology, Faculty of Science, Masaryk University, Kamenice 5, 625 00, Brno, Czech Republic.
Department of Experimental Biology, Faculty of Science, Masaryk University, Kamenice 5, 625 00, Brno, Czech Republic.
Insect Biochem Mol Biol. 2023 Jan;152:103877. doi: 10.1016/j.ibmb.2022.103877. Epub 2022 Nov 18.
The extensive annual loss of honey bees (Apis mellifera L.) represents a global problem affecting agriculture and biodiversity. The parasitic mite Varroa destructor, associated with viral co-infections, plays a key role in this loss. Despite years of intensive research, the complex mechanisms of Varroa - honey bee interaction are still not fully defined. Therefore, this study employed a unique combination of transcriptomic, proteomic, metabolomic, and functional analyses to reveal new details about the effect of Varroa mites and naturally associated factors, including viruses, on honey bees. We focused on the differences between Varroa parasitised and unparasitised ten-day-old worker bees collected before overwintering from the same set of colonies reared without anti-mite treatment. Supplementary comparison to honey bees collected from colonies with standard anti-Varroa treatment can provide further insights into the effect of a pyrethroid flumethrin. Analysis of the honey bees exposed to mite parasitisation revealed alterations in the transcriptome and proteome related to immunity, oxidative stress, olfactory recognition, metabolism of sphingolipids, and RNA regulatory mechanisms. The immune response and sphingolipid metabolism were strongly activated, whereas olfactory recognition and oxidative stress pathways were inhibited in Varroa parasitised honey bees compared to unparasitised ones. Moreover, metabolomic analysis confirmed the depletion of nutrients and energy stores, resulting in a generally disrupted metabolism in the parasitised workers. The combined omics-based analysis conducted on strictly parasitised bees revealed the key molecular components and mechanisms underlying the detrimental effects of Varroa sp. and its associated pathogens. This study provides the theoretical basis and interlinked datasets for further research on honey bee response to biological threats and the development of efficient control strategies against Varroa mites.
蜜蜂（西方蜜蜂）每年大量损失是一个影响农业和生物多样性的全球性问题。与病毒共同感染相关的寄生螨狄斯瓦螨在这种损失中起关键作用。尽管经过多年深入研究，狄斯瓦螨与蜜蜂相互作用的复杂机制仍未完全明确。因此，本研究采用转录组学、蛋白质组学、代谢组学和功能分析的独特组合，以揭示狄斯瓦螨及其自然相关因素（包括病毒）对蜜蜂影响的新细节。我们重点研究了在未进行抗螨处理的同一组蜂群中越冬前采集的10日龄被狄斯瓦螨寄生和未被寄生的工蜂之间的差异。与从采用标准抗狄斯瓦螨处理的蜂群中采集的蜜蜂进行补充比较，可进一步深入了解拟除虫菊酯氟胺氰菊酯的作用效果。对暴露于螨寄生的蜜蜂的分析显示，与免疫、氧化应激、嗅觉识别、鞘脂代谢和RNA调控机制相关的转录组和蛋白质组发生了变化。与未被寄生的蜜蜂相比，被狄斯瓦螨寄生的蜜蜂的免疫反应和鞘脂代谢被强烈激活，而嗅觉识别和氧化应激途径受到抑制。此外，代谢组学分析证实了营养物质和能量储备的消耗，导致被寄生工蜂的代谢普遍紊乱。对严格被寄生的蜜蜂进行的基于组学的综合分析揭示了狄斯瓦螨及其相关病原体有害影响背后的关键分子成分和机制。本研究为进一步研究蜜蜂对生物威胁的反应以及制定针对狄斯瓦螨的有效控制策略提供了理论基础和相互关联的数据集。
