Investigation into the molecular mechanisms of a host parasite interaction between a bumblebee host and an entomoparasitic nematode

Abstract

Sphaerularia bombi (Phylum Nematode: Order Tylenchida), an entomoparasitic nematode, infects and parasitises bumblebee (Bombus) queens (Phylum Arthropoda: Order Hymenoptera) resulting in dramatic physiological and behavioural changes in the host phenotype with the most devastating effect being host castration (Poinar and Van Der Laan, 1972, Lundberg and Svensson, 1975). While the pathology-associated with parasitism has been extensively documented, the molecular mechanisms related to the dynamics of the host- parasite interaction between S. bombi and its bumblebee host are unknown. To address this issue, a systems level investigation of genome expression within the host-parasite interaction between S. bombi and the buff-tailed bumblebee, Bombus terrestris, an important pollinator, was performed to provide a novel insight into molecular mechanisms involved in this relationship.