U.S. flagAn official website of the United States government
                    Here's how you know **Official websites use .gov**
                            
                            A **.gov** website belongs to an official government organization in the United States.
 **Secure .gov websites use HTTPS**
                            
                            A **lock** (                            
                              A locked padlock                                                      
                            
                            ) or **https://** means you’ve safely connected to the .gov website. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites.


Menu Agricultural Research Service
						
                    U.S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
 close



Research
                Research Home
                            National Programs
                            Research Projects
                            Scientific Manuscripts
                            International Engagement
                            Scientific Software/Models
                            Databases and Datasets
                            Office of Scientific Quality Review
            Media
                News & Features
                            Multimedia
                            Briefing Room
                            Down on the Farm
                            Press Room
                            Science in Your Shopping Cart
                            Scientific Discoveries
                            Tellus
                            Under the Microscope
            About ARS
                About ARS Home
                            Staff Directory
                            Labs and Research Centers (Map)
                            Headquarter Offices
                            Organizational Chart
                            Employee Services (REE Employees Only)
                            Office of Outreach, Diversity, and Equal Opportunity
            Work With Us
                Work With Us Home
                            ARS Vacancies at USAJOBS
                            Careers at ARS Information
                            Scientific Collaborations
                            Extramural Agreements
                            1890 Faculty Research Sabbatical ProgramSearch small
                    Search
            
            ARS Home
                                About ARS
                                Contact Us




ARS Home Northeast Area Beltsville, Maryland (BARC) Beltsville Agricultural Research Center Bee Research Laboratory Research Publications at this Location





- ARS National Programs
- Search for a scientific manuscript
- Search for a research project
- ARS Software
- Programs and Projects
- Collaborations
- Subjects of Investigation
- Publications

Title:   Author  item
                                            BONCRISTIANI, HUMBERTO - University Of North Carolinaitem
                                            UNDERWOOD, ROBYN - Pennsylvania State Universityitem
                                            Schwarz, Ryanitem
                                            Evans, Jayitem
                                            Pettis, Jefferyitem
                                            VANENGELSDORP, DENNIS - University Of Maryland
  Submitted to: Journal of Insect Physiology
                                    Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
                                    Publication Acceptance Date: 12/21/2011
                                    Publication  Date: 12/28/2011
                                    Citation: Boncristiani, H., Underwood, R., Schwarz, R.S., Evans, J.D., Pettis, J.S., Vanengelsdorp, D. 2011. Direct effect of acaricides on pathogen loads and gene expression levels of honey bee Apis mellifera. Journal of Insect Physiology. 58:613-620.Interpretive Summary: Honey bees are needed for pollination services worldwide. The primary threat to honey bees worldwide is the varroa mite. Here we deterime the impacts of chemicals in use for controlling the varroa mite on honey bee physiology. We show a change in stress- responses by honey bees after exposure to two different treatments, and present a general protocol to test for the effects of chemiclas and other streses on bee health. The results have implications for colony collapse disorder and other widespread colony losses, and will help beekeepers manage bees more effectively against the threat of varroa mites.
                                Technical Abstract: The effect of using miticides to control varroa mites has long been a concern to the beekeeping industry due to unintended negative impacts on honey bee health.  Irregular ontogenesis, immune defense suppression, impairment of normal behavior are some of the described symptoms for the use of pesticides. Often, external stressors such as pathogens impair conclusive results about pesticide effects on honey bee metabolism. This is the case for Varroa destructor, a mite that negatively affects honey bee health on many levels, from direct parasitism which weakens honey bee energy stores to vectoring and/or activation of pathogens including many viruses.  Here we present a gene expression profile, comprising genes acting on diverse metabolic levels (detoxification, Immune system and development), in a rare population that lacks the influence of varroa mites.  We present data for hives treated with five different miticides, Apiguard (Thymol), Apistan (tau-fluvalinate), Checkmite (Coumaphos), Miteaway (Formic acid) and Tactic (Amitraz). The results indicate that some miticides trigger metabolic responses, altering detoxification gene expression pathways, components of immune system responsible for cellular response and JNK pathway, and development genes, potentially interfering with the health of individual bees and colonies.


Return to top


Connect with ARS Sign up


ARS Home
                            USDA.gov
                            Plain Writing
                            Policies & Links
                            Civil Rights Statements
                            FOIA
                            Accessibility Statement
                            Privacy Policy
                            Non-Discrimination Statement
                            Quality of Information
                            USA.gov
                            WhiteHouse.gov