title: Bidirectional transfer of RNAi between honey bee and Varroa destructor: Varroa gene silencing reduces Varroa population.
abstract: The mite Varroa destructor is an obligatory ectoparasite of the honey bee (Apis mellifera) and is one of the major threats to apiculture worldwide. We previously reported that honey bees fed on double-stranded RNA (dsRNA) with a sequence homologous to that of the Israeli acute paralysis virus are protected from the viral disease. Here we show that dsRNA ingested by bees is transferred to the Varroa mite and from mite on to a parasitized bee. This cross-species, reciprocal exchange of dsRNA between bee and Varroa engendered targeted gene silencing in the latter, and resulted in an over 60% decrease in the mite population. Thus, transfer of gene-silencing-triggering molecules between this invertebrate host and its ectoparasite could lead to a conceptually novel approach to Varroa control.
authors: The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, The Robert H. Smith Faculty of Agriculture, Food and Environment, Rehovot, Israel.
authors: Yael
authors: Y
authors: Garbian
authors: Eyal
authors: E
authors: Maori
authors: Haim
authors: H
authors: Kalev
authors: Sharoni
authors: S
authors: Shafir
authors: Ilan
authors: I
authors: Sela
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001516:Bees / Q000235:genetics* / Q000469:parasitology; D061046:Biological Control Agents; D015152:Blotting, Northern; D020868:Gene Silencing; D006790:Host-Parasite Interactions / Q000235:genetics / Q000276:immunology*; D034622:RNA Interference; D012330:RNA, Double-Stranded / Q000008:administration & dosage*; D012333:RNA, Messenger / Q000235:genetics; D060888:Real-Time Polymerase Chain Reaction; D020133:Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction; D057077:Varroidae / Q000472:pathogenicity* / Q000502:physiology
chemical_list: D061046:Biological Control Agents; D012330:RNA, Double-Stranded; D012333:RNA, Messenger