title: Next generation sequencing of Apis mellifera syriaca identifies genes for Varroa resistance and beneficial bee keeping traits.
abstract: Apis mellifera syriaca exhibits a high degree of tolerance to pests and pathogens including varroa mites. This native honey bee subspecies of Jordan expresses behavioral adaptations to high temperature and dry seasons typical of the region. However, persistent honey bee imports of commercial breeder lines are endangering local honey bee population. This study reports the use of next-generation sequencing (NGS) technology to study the A. m. syriaca genome and to identify genetic factors possibly contributing toward mite resistance and other favorable traits. We obtained a total of 46.2 million raw reads by applying the NGS to sequence A. m. syriaca and used extensive bioinformatics approach to identify several candidate genes for Varroa mite resistance, behavioral and immune responses characteristic for these bees. As a part of characterizing the functional regulation of molecular genetic pathway, we have mapped the pathway genes potentially involved using information from Drosophila melanogaster and present possible functional changes implicated in responses to Varroa destructor mite infestation toward this. We performed in-depth functional annotation methods to identify ∼600 candidates that are relevant, genes involved in pathways such as microbial recognition and phagocytosis, peptidoglycan recognition protein family, Gram negative binding protein family, phagocytosis receptors, serpins, Toll signaling pathway, Imd pathway, Tnf, JAK-STAT and MAPK pathway, heamatopioesis and cellular response pathways, antiviral, RNAi pathway, stress factors, etc. were selected. Finally, we have cataloged function-specific polymorphisms between A. mellifera and A. m. syriaca that could give better understanding of varroa mite resistance mechanisms and assist in breeding. We have identified immune related embryonic development (Cactus, Relish, dorsal, Ank2, baz), Varroa hygiene (NorpA2, Zasp, LanA, gasp, impl3) and Varroa resistance (Pug, pcmt, elk, elf3-s10, Dscam2, Dhc64C, gro, futsch) functional variations genes between A. mellifera and A. m. syriaca that could be used to develop an effective molecular tool for bee conservation and breeding programs to improve locally adapted strains such as syriaca and utilize their advantageous traits for the benefit of apiculture industry.
authors.affiliation: Bee Research Department, National Center for Agricultural Research and Extension, P.O.Box 639-Baqa, 19381, Irbid, Jordan.
authors.forename: Nizar
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Haddad
authors.affiliation: Bee Research Department, National Center for Agricultural Research and Extension, P.O.Box 639-Baqa, 19381, Irbid, Jordan.
authors.forename: Ahmed
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Mahmud Batainh
authors.affiliation: Jordanian Bee Research Station, National Center for Agricultural Research and Extension, Irbid, Jordan.
authors.forename: Osama
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Suleiman Migdadi
authors.affiliation: Research and Development Unit, Genotypic Technology (P) Ltd., #259, Apurva, 2nd Floor, 4th Cross, R.M.V. 2nd Stage, 80 Feet Road, Bangalore, 560 094, India.
authors.forename: Deepti
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Saini
authors.affiliation: Research and Development Unit, Genotypic Technology (P) Ltd., #259, Apurva, 2nd Floor, 4th Cross, R.M.V. 2nd Stage, 80 Feet Road, Bangalore, 560 094, India.
authors.forename: Venkatesh
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Krishnamurthy
authors.affiliation: Research and Development Unit, Genotypic Technology (P) Ltd., #259, Apurva, 2nd Floor, 4th Cross, R.M.V. 2nd Stage, 80 Feet Road, Bangalore, 560 094, India.
authors.forename: Sriram
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Parameswaran
authors.affiliation: Jordanian Bee Research Station, National Center for Agricultural Research and Extension, Irbid, Jordan.
authors.forename: Zaid
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Alhamuri
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D056630:Beekeeping; D001516:Bees / Q000235:genetics* / Q000276:immunology / Q000469:parasitology*; D001522:Behavior, Animal; D004331:Drosophila melanogaster / Q000235:genetics; D049750:Genome, Insect; D059014:High-Throughput Nucleotide Sequencing; D006790:Host-Parasite Interactions; D007597:Jordan; D020641:Polymorphism, Single Nucleotide; D015398:Signal Transduction; D057077:Varroidae
keywords: Apis mellifera syriaca; breeding; conservation; next-generation sequencing (NGS); varroa mite resistance