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ARS Home » Northeast Area » Beltsville, Maryland (BARC) » Beltsville Agricultural Research Center » Bee Research Laboratory » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #364807
Research Project: Managing Honey Bees against Disease and Colony Stress

Location: Bee Research Laboratory

Title: Draft genome of the yeast Kodamaea ohmeri, a symbiont of the small hive beetle

Author
item TAUBER, JAMES - Non ARS Employee
item Childers, Anna
item Evans, Jay

Submitted to: Microbiology Resource Announcements
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 6/4/2019
Publication Date: 6/27/2019
Citation: Tauber, J.P., Childers, A.K., Evans, J.D. 2019. Draft genome of the yeast Kodamaea ohmeri, a symbiont of the small hive beetle. Microbiology Resource Announcements. 8:e00450-19. https://doi.org/10.1128/MRA.00450-19.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1128/MRA.00450-19

Interpretive Summary: Kodamaea ohmeri is a yeast symbiont of the small hive beetle (SHB), a scavenger of economically important honey bee colonies. K. ohmeri deposited in the honeycomb by SHB ferments honey and pollen stores. Damage caused by SHB and K. ohmeri can cause absconding of honey bees. In an effort to better understand honey bee-SHB-yeast tripartite interactions, we conducted longread sequencing, assembly, and annotation of the K. ohmeri genome from an isolate cultured from honey bees in a colony infested with SHB. These results will clarify ongoing work involving the signaling of parasites by K. ohmeri, and the direct impacts of this fungus on hive products and bees. Ultimately, genetic strategies targeting K. ohmeri will reduce the damage done by this fungus as well as beetle pests.

Technical Abstract: Kodamaea ohmeri is a symbiont of the small hive beetle (SHB), which is a scavenger of honey bee colonies. The SHB causes absconding of the economically important honey bee, Apis mellifera, and deposits K. ohmeri in the honeycomb. We describe long-read sequencing and further analyses of the K. ohmeri genome.