Varroa destructor

The ectoparasitic mite Varroa destructor, of the mite order Mesostigmata, originated in Asia as a pest of the Asian honey bee (Apis cerana).  However, subsequent to making a host switch and becoming a primary parasite of the domesticated Western honey bee (Apis mellifera), it has successfully spread almost worldwide and is considered the most damaging pest to beekeeping.  V. destructor is an obligate parasite of immature and adult bees, and is a confirmed vector of viral pathogens important for bee health.
Genomic and transcriptomic data from V. destructor and its sister species Varroa jacobsoni, which also recently switched hosts, will allow for a comparative approach to understanding the mechanisms underlying host switches and enable population genomics studies aiming to reconstruct global demographic history and dispersal of V. destructor.

Genome update. Previously, the i5k Workspace@NAL hosted Varroa destructor genome assembly Vdes_3.0 (GCF_002443255.2), NCBI Varroa destructor Annotation Release 100, and Functional annotations of NCBI Varroa destructor Annotation Release 100. The assembly and annotations have updated to the most recent assembly, Varroa destructor genome assembly Vdes_3.0 (GCF_002443255.2) (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/datasets/genome/GCF_002443255.2//), NCBI Varroa destructor Annotation Release 100 (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/genome/annotation_euk/Varroa_destructor/100/), and Functional annotations of NCBI Varroa destructor Annotation Release 100 (https://i5k.nal.usda.gov/data/Arthropoda/vardes-%28Varroa_destructor%29/Vdes_3.0/2.Official%20or%20Primary%20Gene%20Set//).