An <scp>RNA</scp> interference biopesticide reduces reproduction of the honey bee parasite <i>Varroa destructor</i> by down‐regulating embryo development pathways
Our study shows the effects of vadescana on Varroa reproduction occur early in the reproductive cycle, as no offspring were produced by foundress mites sampled 5 days after cell capping and calmodulin expression was significantly reduced in mites sampled from brood cells at this time. These findings inform our understanding of Varroa reproduction by showing that calmodulin-mediated calcium signaling plays a critical role in early embryogenesis and reproduction in these parasites. © 2025 The Author(s). Pest Management Science published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of Society of Chemical Industry.
Authors
- Zoe E. Smeele (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0004-0452-5469)
- Philip J. Lester (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1801-5687)
- Upendra Kumar Devisetty (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4686-7235)
- Eric R. L. Gordon (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5547-0953)
- James W. Baty (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7961-3234)
- Rose A. McGruddy (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3247-6161)
- Emma De Neef
- Antoine Felden (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8499-0739)
- Kenneth E. Narva (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8094-6418)
- Brian Manley
- Katie Youngs
Institutions
- Victoria University of Wellington (NZ)
- GreenLight Biosciences (United States) (US)
Publication Details
- Journal
- Pest Management Science
- Published
- 2025-12-04
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1002/ps.70406
- Primary Topic
- Insect and Pesticide Research
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 0.00