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
 Bee Research Laboratory: Beltsville, MD
 close



    Research

                    Research Projects
                                    Publications
                                    Collaborations
                                    News
                People

                    Staff Listing
                                    Careers


        


                    Disease Diagnosis Service
                    Varroacide Registration
                        Varroacide Registration
                                    Oxalic Acid FAQ'sSearch 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
                                            JIANG, HONGBO - Kansas State Universityitem
                                            DOBESH, SHARON - Kansas State Universityitem
                                            DONGHUN, KIM - Kansas State Universityitem
                                            Evans, Jayitem
                                            Nachman, Ronalditem
                                            KRZYSZTOF, KACZMAREK - Technical University Of Lodzitem
                                            JANUSZ, ZABROCKI - Technical University Of Lodzitem
                                            PARK, YOONSEONG - Kansas State University
  Submitted to: Scientific Reports
                                    Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
                                    Publication Acceptance Date: 2/18/2016
                                    Publication  Date: 2/28/2016
                                    Citation: Jiang, H., Dobesh, S., Donghun, K., Evans, J.D., Nachman, R.J., Krzysztof, K., Janusz, Z., Park, Y. 2016. Ligand selectivity in tachykinin and natalisin neuropeptidergic systems of the honey bee parasitic mite Varroa destructor. Scientific Reports. 6:19547. doi: 10.1038/srep19547.Interpretive Summary: Varroa mites remain the most important biological threat for honey bees. Controlling these parasites will require novel methods due to acaricide resistance and sensitivity of bees to current control methods. This collaborative study describes a novel approach toward blocking mite proteins that are key for mite development. The results, which show promise, can lead to new avenues of  mite research and control, and ultimately help provide beekeepers with new solutions for this key parasite.
                                Technical Abstract: The varroa mite, Varroa destructor, is a devastating ectoparasite of the honey bees Apis mellifera and A. cerana. Control of these mites in beehives is a challenge in part due to the lack of toxic agents that are specific to mites and not to the host honey bee. In searching for a specific toxic target of varroa mites, we investigated two closely related neuropeptidergic systems, tachykinin-related peptide (TRP) and natalisin (NTL), and their respective receptors. Honey bees lack both NTL and the NTL receptor in their genome sequences, providing the rationale for investigating these receptors to understand their specificities to various ligands. We characterized the receptors for NTL and TRP of V. destructor  (VdNTL-R and VdTRP-R, respectively) and for TRP of A. mellifera (AmTRP-R) in a heterologous reporter assay system to determine the activities of various ligands including TRP/NTL peptides and peptidomimetics. Although we found that AmTRP-R is highly promiscuous, activated by various ligands including two VdNTL peptides when a total of 36 ligands were tested, we serendipitously found that peptides carrying the C-terminal motif -FWxxRamide are highly specific to VdTRP-R. This motif can serve as a seed sequence for designing a VdTRP-R-specific agonist.


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