Fig. 5. Proteomic profiles of Varroa destructor foundress and dispersing mites.

a Most honey bee proteins identified in V. destructor were found in both stages, but almost 41.8% were uniquely identified in foundresses (parasitizing purple-eyed honey bee worker pupae) or dispersing mites (parasitizing adult nurse bees). The proportion of these proteins that had previously been identified in honey bee hemolymph (ref. ⁵⁰) was highest in proteins unique to foundresses and lowest in proteins unique to dispersing mites with shared proteins intermediate, as indicated by the darker-colored sections. b Among the 167 honey bee proteins that overlapped between founding and dispersing mites, 69 were significantly different in abundance. The majority (65 proteins) was significantly more abundant in founding than in dispersing mites (yellow) and only four proteins showed the opposite result (blue). Statistical analyses were performed by two-sided t-tests with Benjamini Hochberg-correction. c Major royal jelly proteins and hexamerins from honey bees were consistently more abundant in foundresses than in dispersing mites (n = 3 biological replicates for each stage, approximately 50 mites/replicate). All data are presented as mean ± S.D. Significance of two-sided t-tests are indicated with ** and *** (p < 0.01 and < 0.001, respectively). Source data and the exact p-values are provided in the Source Data file. d Differentially expressed proteins of V. destructor’s own proteome (non-honey bee derived) clustered into a larger group of proteins up-regulated in foundresses and a smaller group up-regulated in dispersing mites. Statistical analyses were performed by two-sided t-tests with Benjamini Hochberg-corrected p value < 0.05. e GO analysis of the upregulated V. destructor proteins in foundresses and dispersers revealed a variety of biological and molecular functions (two-sided hypergeometric test and Benjamini-Hochberg correction). f KEGG pathway analysis of the differentially expressed V. destructor proteins indicated a more active protein metabolism in foundresses compared to dispersing mites (two-sided hypergeometric test and Benjamini-Hochberg correction). Source data are provided in the Source Data file.