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Four quantitative trait loci associated with low Nosema ceranae (Microsporidia) spore load in the honeybee Apis mellifera

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Abstract

Nosema ceranae has been recently introduced into the honeybee Apis mellifera as a novel microsporidian gut parasite. To locate the genetic region involved in N. ceranae infection tolerance, we fed N. ceranae spores to haploid drones of a F1 hybrid queen produced from a cross between a queen of a Nosema-resistant bred strain and drones of susceptible colonies. The spore loads of the infected F1 drones were used as the phenotype to identify quantitative trait loci (QTLs) associated with N. ceranae spore load. One hundred forty-eight infected drones were individually genotyped with microsatellite markers at an average marker distance of 20 cM along the genome. Four QTLs were significantly associated with low spore load, explaining 20.4 % of total spore load variance. Moreover, a candidate gene Aubergine (Aub) within the major QTL region was significantly overexpressed in drones with low spore loads than in those with high spore loads. Our results confirm the genetic basis of Nosema tolerance in the selected strain and show that both additive effects and epistatic interactions among the QTLs interfere with the tested phenotype.

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Acknowledgments

We would like to thank Dieter Behrens and Petra Leibe for technical assistance; Holger Scharpenberg and Hans-Hinrich Kaatz for the assistance with bee keeping; Didier Crauser for the artificial insemination. This work was supported by the European Union’s Seventh Framework Programme (FP7/2007-2013) under grant agreement BEE DOC FP7-KBBE-2009-3 244956CP-FP, the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft Project DFG SPP 1399(MO 373/26-1) and the China Scholarship Council.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institut für Biology/Zoologie, Molekulare Ökologie, Martin-Luther-Universität Halle-Wittenberg, 06099, Halle, Germany

    Qiang Huang, H. Michael G. Lattorff, F. Bernhard Kraus & Robin F. A. Moritz

  2. Honeybee Research Institute, Jiangxi Agricultural University, 330045, Nanchang, China

    Qiang Huang

  3. Department of Agroecology, Section of Entomology and Plant Pathology, Aarhus University, Flakkebjerg, 4200, Slagelse, Denmark

    Per Kryger

  4. INRA, UR 406 Abeilles et Environnement, Laboratoire de Biologie et Protection de l’abeille, Site Agroparc, 84914, Avignon Cedex 9, France

    Yves Le Conte

  5. Institut für Biology/Zoologie, Tierphysiologie, Martin-Luther-Universität Halle -Wittenberg, 06099, Halle, Germany

    H. Michael G. Lattorff

  6. Department of Laboratory Medicine, University Hospital Halle (Saale), Ernst-Grube-Str. 40, 06120, Halle (Saale), Germany

    F. Bernhard Kraus

  7. RoBeeTech, Universitatea de Stiinte Agricole si Medicina Vetereinaria Cluj-Napoca, Cluj-Napoca, Romania

    Robin F. A. Moritz

  8. Department of Zoology and Entomology, University of Pretoria, Pretoria, 0002, South Africa

    Robin F. A. Moritz

Authors
  1. Qiang Huang
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  2. Per Kryger
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  3. Yves Le Conte
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  4. H. Michael G. Lattorff
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  5. F. Bernhard Kraus
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  6. Robin F. A. Moritz
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Qiang Huang.

Additional information

Manuscript editor: Peter Rosenkranz

Quatre locus quantitatifs associés à une faible charge de spores de Nosema ceranae (Microsporidia) chez l’abeille Apis mellifera

Apis mellifera / mâle / Nosema / QTL

Vier QTL die mit einer geringen Sporenbelastung von Nosema ceranae (Microsporidia) bei Honigbienen ( Apis mellifera ) assoziiert sind

Apis mellifera / Drohnen / Nosema / QTL

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Huang, Q., Kryger, P., Le Conte, Y. et al. Four quantitative trait loci associated with low Nosema ceranae (Microsporidia) spore load in the honeybee Apis mellifera . Apidologie 45, 248–256 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13592-013-0243-4

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s13592-013-0243-4

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