Analysis of the salivary gland transcriptome of the honey bee mite Varroa destructor

Varroa destructor is a parasitic mite of honey bees and a major driver of honey bee colony losses. By feeding on the host’s body fluids, this obligate ectoparasite has a strong impact on honey bee physiology, causing the reduction of weight and longevity, and the spread of viral pathogens. Despite its importance, many aspects of Varroa lifestyle are still obscure. In particular, during feeding activity on the host, the mite injects salivary secretions only partly identified so far. Here we analyzed the salivary gland transcriptome of V. destructor and identified 15 transcripts encoding putatively secreted proteins. Using databases such as InterPro, UniProt and NCBI, we functionally annotated this secretome, which includes proteins belonging to cysteine protease, serine protease, endochitinase and phospholipase families. The identification and functional characterization of these proteins will offer new knowledge on the molecular basis of Varroa-bee interactions, on which to develop innovative and eco-sustainable mite control strategies.