One of the main biotic threat to honey bees all over the world is the ectoparasitic mite Varroa destructor (Acari: Mesostigmata). Without proper treatment, colonies are doomed and collapse within two years. Many treatments are used by beekeepers, with well-established acaricidal efficacy; however very little is known on the impact of the above-mentioned treatments on the wellbeing of the colony. Biochemical markers represent an interesting tool to assess the animal and human welfare. Particularly promising for our purposes seems to be the evaluation of vitellogenin in the hemolymph of a pool of bees. The potential of this protein can be foreseen considering his pivotal role in the homeostasis of social insect colonies. In fact, the function of vitellogenin in these species is not limited to egg yolk constitution: trophic, antioxidant and hormonal function are also described. The aim of this research was to test the impact of two different Varroa control techniques by analyzing the vitellogenin content in the hemolymph. Brood interruption by queen caging (five colonies) and brood removal (five colonies) followed by trickling of Api-Bioxal (Oxalic acid based acaricide) were performed. The hemolymph of 30 bees per colony was sampled and pooled. Four samplings were considered: pre manipulation, after manipulation, autumn (wintering phase) and winter. All the samples underwent SDS-PAGE and quantification of vitellogenin, qualitative analysis of other relevant proteins was also performed. Vitellogenin was successfully isolated and identified by mass spectrometry. Our data are confirmatory of the abundance of this protein in the hemolymph of worker bees and interesting differences were found depending on the season. Major differences were also found between the experimental groups, suggesting the expected different impact of the techniques and stressing the need of an objective tool to better evaluate and understand the techniques for Varroa control.
Evaluation of Varroa control techniques in Apis Mellifera by a proteomich approach
FERLIZZA, ENEA;GALUPPI, ROBERTA;TAMPIERI, MARIA PAOLA;ISANI, GLORIA
2016
Abstract
One of the main biotic threat to honey bees all over the world is the ectoparasitic mite Varroa destructor (Acari: Mesostigmata). Without proper treatment, colonies are doomed and collapse within two years. Many treatments are used by beekeepers, with well-established acaricidal efficacy; however very little is known on the impact of the above-mentioned treatments on the wellbeing of the colony. Biochemical markers represent an interesting tool to assess the animal and human welfare. Particularly promising for our purposes seems to be the evaluation of vitellogenin in the hemolymph of a pool of bees. The potential of this protein can be foreseen considering his pivotal role in the homeostasis of social insect colonies. In fact, the function of vitellogenin in these species is not limited to egg yolk constitution: trophic, antioxidant and hormonal function are also described. The aim of this research was to test the impact of two different Varroa control techniques by analyzing the vitellogenin content in the hemolymph. Brood interruption by queen caging (five colonies) and brood removal (five colonies) followed by trickling of Api-Bioxal (Oxalic acid based acaricide) were performed. The hemolymph of 30 bees per colony was sampled and pooled. Four samplings were considered: pre manipulation, after manipulation, autumn (wintering phase) and winter. All the samples underwent SDS-PAGE and quantification of vitellogenin, qualitative analysis of other relevant proteins was also performed. Vitellogenin was successfully isolated and identified by mass spectrometry. Our data are confirmatory of the abundance of this protein in the hemolymph of worker bees and interesting differences were found depending on the season. Major differences were also found between the experimental groups, suggesting the expected different impact of the techniques and stressing the need of an objective tool to better evaluate and understand the techniques for Varroa control.I documenti in IRIS sono protetti da copyright e tutti i diritti sono riservati, salvo diversa indicazione.
