title: Museum samples reveal rapid evolution by wild honey bees exposed to a novel parasite.
abstract: Understanding genetic changes caused by novel pathogens and parasites can reveal mechanisms of adaptation and genetic robustness. Using whole-genome sequencing of museum and modern specimens, we describe the genomic changes in a wild population of honey bees in North America following the introduction of the ectoparasitic mite, Varroa destructor. Even though colony density in the study population is the same today as in the past, a major loss of haplotypic diversity occurred, indicative of a drastic mitochondrial bottleneck, caused by massive colony mortality. In contrast, nuclear genetic diversity did not change, though hundreds of genes show signs of selection. The genetic diversity within each bee colony, particularly as a consequence of polyandry by queens, may enable preservation of genetic diversity even during population bottlenecks. These findings suggest that genetically diverse honey bee populations can recover from introduced diseases by evolving rapid tolerance, while maintaining much of the standing genetic variation.
authors.affiliation: Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology, 1919-1 Tancha, Onna-son, Kunigami-gun 904-0412, Japan.|Research School of Biology, Australian National University, Canberra, Australian Capital Territory 0200, Australia.
authors.forename: Alexander S
authors.identifier: http://orcid.org/0000-0003-4369-1019
authors.initials: AS
authors.lastname: Mikheyev
authors.affiliation: Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology, 1919-1 Tancha, Onna-son, Kunigami-gun 904-0412, Japan.
authors.forename: Mandy M Y
authors.initials: MMY
authors.lastname: Tin
authors.affiliation: Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology, 1919-1 Tancha, Onna-son, Kunigami-gun 904-0412, Japan.|Department of Paediatrics and Adolescent Medicine, Medical University of Vienna, Lazarettgasse 14, AKH BT 25.3, 1090 Vienna, Austria.
authors.forename: Jatin
authors.identifier: http://orcid.org/0000-0002-7754-9566
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Arora
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurobiology and Behavior, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York 14853, USA.
authors.forename: Thomas D
authors.initials: TD
authors.lastname: Seeley
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001516:Bees / Q000235:genetics* / Q000469:parasitology; D005075:Biological Evolution; D049628:Body Size; D040961:Genetic Drift; D014644:Genetic Variation; D049750:Genome, Insect; D054629:Genome, Mitochondrial; D006790:Host-Parasite Interactions / Q000235:genetics*; D011156:Population Density; D040641:Quantitative Trait Loci; D012641:Selection, Genetic; D017422:Sequence Analysis, DNA; D057077:Varroidae / Q000502:physiology*