Towards Visualizing the Process of ‘Kleptocytosis’: Varroa destructor Stealing Vitellogenin Protein from Apis mellifera

Kominsky, Jackson

Undergraduate Honors Thesis

Towards Visualizing the Process of ‘Kleptocytosis’: Varroa destructor Stealing Vitellogenin Protein from Apis mellifera Public Deposited

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Citeable URL: https://scholar.colorado.edu/concern/undergraduate_honors_theses/6q182m91c

Abstract

Varroa destructor is a parasitic mite currently contributing to the significant colony loss of Apis mellifera, the western honey bee, a crucial pollinator for the U.S. agricultural industry. This parasite was long thought to feed on the hemolymph, or blood equivalent, of honey bees. However, more recent evidence has suggested that this mite mainly ingests fat body tissue, functionally similar to liver and adipose tissue, located in the bee’s abdomen. In addition, quantitative mass spectrometry data has led to the proposal that these mites may be incorporating proteins taken from their hosts into their own eggs, allowing them to accelerate the process of oviposition and therefore the rate at which they are able to produce offspring. Of particular interest is Vitellogenin (Vg), a protein known for its crucial role in the transport of nutrients to oocytes in most oviparous species. In honey bees, this protein is additionally suggested to be involved in a multitude of other processes, including immune, social, and longevity-related functions. However, many questions remain about this theoretical process of protein-stealing, which has been termed ‘kleptocytosis’. In this study, we use RT-PCR to obtain the sequence of Vitellogenin mRNA from bee fat body tissue, then express the sequence as a Halo fusion protein in insect cells. Next, we plan to fluorescently label and track the protein through the Varroa mite and into a produced egg via fluorescent microscopy to show the process does indeed occur as predicted.

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