Title
Population genetics of ectoparasitic mites Varroa spp. In Eastern and Western honey bees
Date Issued
01 September 2019
Access level
open access
Resource Type
journal article
Author(s)
Dietemann V.
Beaurepaire A.
Page P.
Buawangpong N.
Chantawannakul P.
Neumann P.
Swiss Bee Research Center
Publisher(s)
Cambridge University Press
Abstract
Host shifts of parasites are often causing devastating effects in the new hosts. The Varroa genus is known for a lineage of Varroa destructor that shifted to the Western honey bee, Apis mellifera, with disastrous effects on wild populations and the beekeeping industry. Despite this, the biology of Varroa spp. remains poorly understood in its native distribution range, where it naturally parasitizes the Eastern honey bee, Apis cerana. Here, we combined mitochondrial and nuclear DNA analyses with the assessment of mite reproduction to determine the population structure and host specificity of V. destructor and Varroa jacobsonii in Thailand, where both hosts and several Varroa species and haplotypes are sympatric. Our data confirm previously described mite haplogroups, and show three novel haplotypes. Multiple infestations of single host colonies by both mite species and introgression of alleles between V. destructor and V. jacobsonii suggest that hybridization occurs between the two species. Our results indicate that host specificity and population genetic structure in the genus Varroa is more labile than previously thought. The ability of the host shifted V. destructor haplotype to spillback to A. cerana and to hybridize with V. jacobsonii could threaten honey bee populations of Asia and beyond.
Start page
1429
End page
1439
Volume
146
Issue
11
Language
English
OCDE Knowledge area
Zoología, Ornitología, Entomología, ciencias biológicas del comportamiento Biología celular, Microbiología
Scopus EID
2-s2.0-85070086507
PubMed ID
Source
Parasitology
ISSN of the container
00311820
Sponsor(s)
This research was supported by the Swiss National Science Foundation (V.D., P.N. grant number 31003A 147363), by the Vinetum Foundation (P.N.), by Agroscope (V.D.) and by the Thailand Research Fund (P.C., grant number RSA6080028) and the Ricola foundation Nature and Culture (P.N. and P.C.).
Sources of information: Directorio de Producción Científica Scopus