title: Salivary secretions from the honeybee mite, Varroa destructor: effects on insect haemocytes and preliminary biochemical characterization.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  The ectoparasitic honey bee mite Varroa destructor feeds on the haemolymph of the honey bee, Apis mellifera, through a single puncture wound that does not heal but remains open for several days. It was hypothesized that factors in the varroa saliva are responsible for this aberrant wound healing.
  
  
  METHODS
  An in vitro procedure was developed for collecting salivary gland secretions from V. destructor. Mites were incubated on balls of cotton wool soaked in a tissue culture medium (TC-100), and then induced to spit by topical application of an ethanolic pilocarpine solution.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Elution of secretions from balls of cotton wool, followed by electrophoretic analysis by SDS-PAGE and electroblotting indicated the presence of at least 15 distinct protein bands, with molecular weights ranging from 130 kDa to <17 kDa. Serial titration of V. destructor salivary secretions in TC-100 followed by an 18-h incubation with haemocytes from the caterpillar, Lacanobia oleracea, indicated that the secretions damage the haemocytes and suppresses their ability to extend pseudopods and form aggregates.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  We suggest that these secretions facilitate the ability of V. destructor to feed repeatedly off their bee hosts by suppressing haemocyte-mediated wound healing and plugging responses in the host.
authors.affiliation: The Food and Environment Research Agency, Sand Hutton, York YO41 1LZ, UK. elaine.richards@fera.gsi.gov.uk
authors.forename: E H
authors.initials: EH
authors.lastname: Richards
authors.forename: Benjamin
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Jones
authors.forename: Alan
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Bowman
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001516:Bees / Q000469:parasitology*; D002449:Cell Aggregation / Q000502:physiology; D004591:Electrophoresis, Polyacrylamide Gel; D005247:Feeding Behavior; D006434:Hemocytes / Q000502:physiology*; D006790:Host-Parasite Interactions; D009036:Moths / Q000166:cytology; D012469:Salivary Glands / Q000737:chemistry / Q000378:metabolism; D012471:Salivary Proteins and Peptides / Q000032:analysis; D013997:Time Factors; D057077:Varroidae / Q000737:chemistry / Q000502:physiology*
chemical_list: D012471:Salivary Proteins and Peptides