EFFECT OF VARROA-JACOBSONI PARASITIZATION IN THE GLYCOPROTEIN EXPRESSION ON APIS-MELLIFERA SPERMATOZOA

In this article we describe, at both light and electron-microscopic le vels, the distinctive distribution of binding sites to biotinylated BP A, Con A and PNA lectins in the male gametes of Apis mellifera. BPA wa s reactive with the plasma membrane of the entire head, Con A with the acrosomal and postacrosomal region, and PNA with the acrosomal cap. C omparison of the lectin-binding patterns to the spermatozoa of non-par asitized drones and to those cells of drones parasitized with Varroa j acobsoni showed similar staining patterns in both cases. However, the number of labelled cells was lower in parasitized than in non-parasiti zed drones, suggesting that V jacobsoni may alter the expression of gl ycoproteins on the spermatozoa.