title: Brain metabolomic profiling of eastern honey bee (Apis cerana) infested with the mite Varroa destructor.
abstract: The mite Varroa destructor is currently the greatest threat to apiculture as it is causing a global decrease in honey bee colonies. However, it rarely causes serious damage to its native hosts, the eastern honey bees Apis cerana. To better understand the mechanism of resistance of A. cerana against the V. destructor mite, we profiled the metabolic changes that occur in the honey bee brain during V. destructor infestation. Brain samples were collected from infested and control honey bees and then measured using an untargeted liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS)-based global metabolomics method, in which 7918 and 7462 ions in ESI+ and ESI- mode, respectively, were successfully identified. Multivariate statistical analyses were applied, and 64 dysregulated metabolites, including fatty acids, amino acids, carboxylic acid, and phospholipids, amongst others, were identified. Pathway analysis further revealed that linoleic acid metabolism; propanoate metabolism; and glycine, serine, and threonine metabolism were acutely perturbed. The data obtained in this study offer insight into the defense mechanisms of A. cerana against V. destructor mites and provide a better method for understanding the synergistic effects of parasitism on honey bee colonies.
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Pollinating Insect Biology, Ministry of Agriculture, Institute of Apicultural Research, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing, China.
authors.forename: Jiang-Li
authors.initials: JL
authors.lastname: Wu
authors.affiliation: Department of Parasitology, Shandong University School of Basic Medicine, Jinan, Shandong Province, PR China.|National Animal Protozoa Laboratory and College of Veterinary Medicine, China Agricultural University, Beijing, PR China.
authors.forename: Chun-Xue
authors.initials: CX
authors.lastname: Zhou
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Pollinating Insect Biology, Ministry of Agriculture, Institute of Apicultural Research, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing, China.
authors.forename: Peng-Jie
authors.initials: PJ
authors.lastname: Wu
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Pollinating Insect Biology, Ministry of Agriculture, Institute of Apicultural Research, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing, China.
authors.forename: Jin
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Xu
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Pollinating Insect Biology, Ministry of Agriculture, Institute of Apicultural Research, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing, China.
authors.forename: Yue-Qin
authors.initials: YQ
authors.lastname: Guo
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Pollinating Insect Biology, Ministry of Agriculture, Institute of Apicultural Research, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing, China.
authors.forename: Fei
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Xue
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Pollinating Insect Biology, Ministry of Agriculture, Institute of Apicultural Research, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing, China.
authors.forename: Awraris
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Getachew
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Pollinating Insect Biology, Ministry of Agriculture, Institute of Apicultural Research, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing, China.
authors.forename: Shu-Fa
authors.initials: SF
authors.lastname: Xu
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001516:Bees / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000469:parasitology; D001921:Brain / Q000378:metabolism*; D056631:Colony Collapse / Q000469:parasitology; D060467:Disease Resistance; D006120:Grooming; D006790:Host-Parasite Interactions; D053858:Metabolic Networks and Pathways; D057077:Varroidae / Q000502:physiology*