Exploring Two Honey Bee Traits for Improving Resistance Against <i>Varroa destructor</i>: Development and Genetic Evaluation
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 <i>Varroa destructor</i> and to allow for their straightforward implementation in...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2021-03-01
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| Series: | Insects |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2075-4450/12/3/216 |
| _version_ | 1797415134688182272 |
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| author | Matthieu Guichard Benoît Droz Evert W. Brascamp Adrien von Virag Markus Neuditschko Benjamin Dainat |
| author_facet | Matthieu Guichard Benoît Droz Evert W. Brascamp Adrien von Virag Markus Neuditschko Benjamin Dainat |
| author_sort | Matthieu Guichard |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | 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 <i>Varroa destructor</i> 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 (‘<i>Recapping</i>’) and solidness (‘<i>Solidness</i>’). ‘<i>Recapping’</i> refers to a specific worker characteristic wherein they reseal a capped and partly opened cell containing a pupa, whilst <i>‘Solidness’</i> 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 <i>V. destructor</i>. During a four-year field trial in Switzerland, the two resistance traits were assessed in a total of 121 colonies of <i>Apis mellifera mellifera</i>. 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. ‘<i>Recapping</i>’ had a low heritability (h<sup>2</sup> = 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 ‘<i>Solidness</i>’ was moderate (h<sup>2</sup> = 0.24 to 0.25) and did not significantly correlate with resistance traits. The two traits did not show an association with <i>V. destructor</i> infestation levels. Further research is needed to confirm the results, as only a small number of colonies was evaluated. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-09T05:43:29Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-b87d87bf547d4f44ae83db61052b1cd7 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2075-4450 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-09T05:43:29Z |
| publishDate | 2021-03-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Insects |
| spelling | doaj.art-b87d87bf547d4f44ae83db61052b1cd72023-12-03T12:23:14ZengMDPI AGInsects2075-44502021-03-0112321610.3390/insects12030216Exploring Two Honey Bee Traits for Improving Resistance Against <i>Varroa destructor</i>: Development and Genetic EvaluationMatthieu Guichard0Benoît Droz1Evert W. Brascamp2Adrien von Virag3Markus Neuditschko4Benjamin Dainat5Agroscope, Swiss Bee Research Centre, Schwarzenburgstrasse 161, 3003 Bern, SwitzerlandAgroscope, Swiss Bee Research Centre, Schwarzenburgstrasse 161, 3003 Bern, SwitzerlandWageningen University & Research Animal Breeding and Genomics, P.O. Box 338, 6700 AH Wageningen, The NetherlandsAgroscope, Swiss Bee Research Centre, Schwarzenburgstrasse 161, 3003 Bern, SwitzerlandAgroscope, Swiss Bee Research Centre, Schwarzenburgstrasse 161, 3003 Bern, SwitzerlandAgroscope, Swiss Bee Research Centre, Schwarzenburgstrasse 161, 3003 Bern, SwitzerlandFor 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 <i>Varroa destructor</i> 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 (‘<i>Recapping</i>’) and solidness (‘<i>Solidness</i>’). ‘<i>Recapping’</i> refers to a specific worker characteristic wherein they reseal a capped and partly opened cell containing a pupa, whilst <i>‘Solidness’</i> 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 <i>V. destructor</i>. During a four-year field trial in Switzerland, the two resistance traits were assessed in a total of 121 colonies of <i>Apis mellifera mellifera</i>. 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. ‘<i>Recapping</i>’ had a low heritability (h<sup>2</sup> = 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 ‘<i>Solidness</i>’ was moderate (h<sup>2</sup> = 0.24 to 0.25) and did not significantly correlate with resistance traits. The two traits did not show an association with <i>V. destructor</i> infestation levels. Further research is needed to confirm the results, as only a small number of colonies was evaluated.https://www.mdpi.com/2075-4450/12/3/216<i>Apis mellifera</i><i>Recapping</i><i>Solidness</i><i>Varroa destructor</i> |
| spellingShingle | Matthieu Guichard Benoît Droz Evert W. Brascamp Adrien von Virag Markus Neuditschko Benjamin Dainat Exploring Two Honey Bee Traits for Improving Resistance Against <i>Varroa destructor</i>: Development and Genetic Evaluation Insects <i>Apis mellifera</i> <i>Recapping</i> <i>Solidness</i> <i>Varroa destructor</i> |
| title | Exploring Two Honey Bee Traits for Improving Resistance Against <i>Varroa destructor</i>: Development and Genetic Evaluation |
| title_full | Exploring Two Honey Bee Traits for Improving Resistance Against <i>Varroa destructor</i>: Development and Genetic Evaluation |
| title_fullStr | Exploring Two Honey Bee Traits for Improving Resistance Against <i>Varroa destructor</i>: Development and Genetic Evaluation |
| title_full_unstemmed | Exploring Two Honey Bee Traits for Improving Resistance Against <i>Varroa destructor</i>: Development and Genetic Evaluation |
| title_short | Exploring Two Honey Bee Traits for Improving Resistance Against <i>Varroa destructor</i>: Development and Genetic Evaluation |
| title_sort | exploring two honey bee traits for improving resistance against i varroa destructor i development and genetic evaluation |
| topic | <i>Apis mellifera</i> <i>Recapping</i> <i>Solidness</i> <i>Varroa destructor</i> |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2075-4450/12/3/216 |
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