Genetic integrity of the Dark European honey bee (Apis mellifera mellifera) from protected populations: a genome-wide assessment using SNPs and mtDNA sequence data

For the development of novel selection traits in honey bees, applicability under field conditions is crucial. We thus evaluated two novel traits intended to provide resistance against the ectoparasitic mite Varroa destructor and to allow for their straightforward implementation in honey bee selection. These traits are new field estimates of already-described colony traits: brood recapping rate (‘Recapping’) and solidness (‘Solidness’). ‘Recapping’ refers to a specific worker characteristic wherein they reseal a capped and partly opened cell containing a pupa, whilst ‘Solidness’ assesses the percentage of capped brood in a predefined area. According to the literature and beekeepers’ experiences, a higher recapping rate and higher solidness could be related to resistance to V. destructor. During a four-year field trial in Switzerland, the two resistance traits were assessed in a total of 121 colonies of Apis mellifera mellifera. We estimated the repeatability and the heritability of the two traits and determined their phenotypic correlations with commonly applied selection traits, including other putative resistance traits. Both traits showed low repeatability between different measurements within each year. ‘Recapping’ had a low heritability (h2 = 0.04 to 0.05, depending on the selected model) and a negative phenotypic correlation to non-removal of pin-killed brood (r = −0.23). The heritability of ‘Solidness’ was moderate (h2 = 0.24 to 0.25) and did not significantly correlate with resistance traits. The two traits did not show an association with V. destructor infestation levels. Further research is needed to confirm the results, as only a small number of colonies was evaluated.

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Transcriptome analysis ofSchistosoma mansonilarval development using serial analysis of gene expression (SAGE)

Parasitology ◽

10.1017/s0031182009005733 ◽

2009 ◽

Vol 136 (5) ◽

pp. 469-485 ◽

Cited By ~ 22

Author(s):

A. S. TAFT ◽

J. J. VERMEIRE ◽

J. BERNIER ◽

S. R. BIRKELAND ◽

M. J. CIPRIANO ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Gene Expression ◽

Sequence Data ◽

Subsequent Development ◽

Differentially Expressed ◽

Cdna Libraries ◽

Genome Wide ◽

A Genome ◽

Genome Wide Expression ◽

Cell Conditioned Medium

SUMMARYInfection of the snail,Biomphalaria glabrata, by the free-swimming miracidial stage of the human blood fluke,Schistosoma mansoni, and its subsequent development to the parasitic sporocyst stage is critical to establishment of viable infections and continued human transmission. We performed a genome-wide expression analysis of theS. mansonimiracidia and developing sporocyst using Long Serial Analysis of Gene Expression (LongSAGE). Five cDNA libraries were constructed from miracidia andin vitrocultured 6- and 20-day-old sporocysts maintained in sporocyst medium (SM) or in SM conditioned by previous cultivation with cells of theB. glabrataembryonic (Bge) cell line. We generated 21 440 SAGE tags and mapped 13 381 to theS. mansonigene predictions (v4.0e) either by estimating theoretical 3′ UTR lengths or using existing 3′ EST sequence data. Overall, 432 transcripts were found to be differentially expressed amongst all 5 libraries. In total, 172 tags were differentially expressed between miracidia and 6-day conditioned sporocysts and 152 were differentially expressed between miracidia and 6-day unconditioned sporocysts. In addition, 53 and 45 tags, respectively, were differentially expressed in 6-day and 20-day cultured sporocysts, due to the effects of exposure to Bge cell-conditioned medium.

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Genetic pollution and number of matings in a black honey bee (Apis mellifera mellifera) population

Theoretical and Applied Genetics ◽

10.1007/bf00289278 ◽

1986 ◽

Vol 73 (2) ◽

pp. 223-227 ◽

Cited By ~ 7

Author(s):

J. M. Cornuet ◽

A. Daoudi ◽

C. Chevalet

Keyword(s):

Apis Mellifera ◽

Honey Bee ◽

Apis Mellifera Mellifera ◽

Genetic Pollution

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First molecular detection of Apis mellifera filamentous virus in honey bees (Apis mellifera) in Hungary

Acta Veterinaria Hungarica ◽

10.1556/004.2019.017 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 67 (1) ◽

pp. 151-157 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Brigitta Zana ◽

Lili Geiger ◽

Anett Kepner ◽

Fanni Földes ◽

Péter Urbán ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Apis Mellifera ◽

Honey Bee ◽

Honey Bees ◽

Sequence Data ◽

Distribution Data ◽

Winter Mortality ◽

Pcr Screening ◽

Economic Role ◽

Parasitic Mite ◽

First Time

Western honey bees (Apis mellifera) are important pollinators in the ecosystem and also play a crucial economic role in the honey industry. During the last decades, a continuous decay was registered in honey bee populations worldwide, including Hungary. In our study, we used metagenomic approaches and conventional PCR screening on healthy and winter mortality affected colonies from multiple sites in Hungary. The major goal was to discover presumed bee pathogens with viral metagenomic experiments and gain prevalence and distribution data by targeted PCR screening. We examined 664 honey bee samples that had been collected during winter mortality from three seemingly healthy colonies and from one colony infested heavily by the parasitic mite Varroa destructor in 2016 and 2017. The subsequent PCR screening of honey bee samples revealed the abundant presence of Apis mellifera filamentous virus (AmFV) for the first time in Central Europe. Based on phylogeny reconstruction, the newly-detected virus was found to be most closely related to a Chinese AmFV strain. More sequence data from multiple countries would be needed for studying the detailed phylogeographical patterns and worldwide spreading process of AmFV. Here we report the prevalent presence of this virus in Hungarian honey bee colonies.

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Mapping the genetic basis of diabetes mellitus in the Australian Burmese cat (Felis catus)

Scientific Reports ◽

10.1038/s41598-020-76166-3 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 10 (1) ◽

Author(s):

Georgina Samaha ◽

Claire M. Wade ◽

Julia Beatty ◽

Leslie A. Lyons ◽

Linda M. Fleeman ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Diabetes Mellitus ◽

Genome Wide Association Study ◽

Genetic Model ◽

Sequence Data ◽

Pancreatic Beta Cell ◽

Whole Genome Sequence ◽

Cell Dysfunction ◽

Genome Wide ◽

A Genome ◽

Pathologic Features

Abstract Diabetes mellitus, a common endocrinopathy affecting domestic cats, shares many clinical and pathologic features with type 2 diabetes in humans. In Australia and Europe, diabetes mellitus is almost four times more common among Burmese cats than in other breeds. As a genetically isolated population, the diabetic Australian Burmese cat provides a spontaneous genetic model for studying diabetes mellitus in humans. Studying complex diseases in pedigreed breeds facilitates tighter control of confounding factors including population stratification, allelic frequencies and environmental heterogeneity. We used the feline SNV array and whole genome sequence data to undertake a genome wide-association study and runs of homozygosity analysis, of a case–control cohort of Australian and European Burmese cats. Our results identified diabetes-associated haplotypes across chromosomes A3, B1 and E1 and selective sweeps across the Burmese breed on chromosomes B1, B3, D1 and D4. The locus on chromosome B1, common to both analyses, revealed coding and splice region variants in candidate genes, ANK1, EPHX2 and LOX2, implicated in diabetes mellitus and lipid dysregulation. Mapping this condition in Burmese cats has revealed a polygenic spectrum, implicating loci linked to pancreatic beta cell dysfunction, lipid dysregulation and insulin resistance in the pathogenesis of diabetes mellitus in the Burmese cat.

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