Referenced in: none

Automatically associated channels: TRP , TRPA , TRPA1

Title: Plant-Derived Tick Repellents Activate the Honey Bee Ectoparasitic Mite TRPA1.

Authors: Guangda Peng, Makiko Kashio, Tomomi Morimoto, Tianbang Li, Jingting Zhu, Makoto Tominaga, Tatsuhiko Kadowaki

Journal, date & volume: Cell Rep, 2015 Jul 14 , 12, 190-202

PubMed link: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26146083

Abstract
We have identified and characterized the TRPA1 channel of Varroa destructor (VdTRPA1), a major ectoparasitic mite of honey bee. One of the two VdTRPA1 isoforms, VdTRPA1L, was activated by a variety of plant-derived compounds, including electrophilic compounds, suggesting that chemical activation profiles are mostly shared between arthropod TRPA1 channels. Nevertheless, carvacrol and α-terpineol activated VdTRPA1L but not a honey bee noxious-stimuli-sensitive TRPA, AmHsTRPA, and Drosophila melanogaster TRPA1. Activation of VdTRPA1L in D. melanogaster taste neurons by the above compounds was sufficient to modify the gustatory behaviors. Carvacrol and α-terpineol repelled V. destructor in a laboratory assay, and α-terpineol repressed V. destructor entry for reproduction into the brood cells in hives. Understanding the functions of parasite TRP channels not only gives clues about the evolving molecular and cellular mechanisms of parasitism but also helps in the development of control methods.