Quantitation of neuroxin-1, ataxin-3 and atlastin genes related to grooming behavior in five races of honey bee, Apis mellifera L., 1758 (Hymenoptera: Apidae), in Turkey

Although many methods have been used to control Varroa destructor Anderson & Trueman, 2000 (Acari: Varroidae), the satisfactory results have not yet been achieved. However, research has shown that some colonies of honey bee, Apis mellifera L., 1758 (Hymenoptera: Apidae), exhibit higher resistance or sensitivity to Varroa mites than others. One of the resistance mechanisms based on genetics is grooming behavior and it has been promising for beekeeping. The fact that there are many unanswered questions about grooming behavior led to the idea of this study. Worker bees from five honey bee races in Turkey were individually tested for their grooming behavior in response to V. destructor mite infestation. The quantitation of the expression levels of three candidate genes (neurexin-1, ataxin-3 and atlastin) in each honey bee race with and without grooming behavior was evaluated by quantitative polymerase chain reaction. Although expression levels of neurexin-1, ataxin-3 and atlastin genes showed significant differences among individuals, grooming levels of individuals were not related to the expression levels of these genes except in Syrian honeybees. Also, phenotypically no statistical differences were found among the honey bee races in terms of grooming behavior. The results show that grooming behavior may not be associated with neural gene expression alone. However, it is seen that more molecular studies related to grooming behavior are needed.