Black Sea Journal of Engineering and Science 3(2): 57-60 (2020) doi: 10.34248/bsengineering.646925 BSJ Eng. Sci. / Berkant İsmail YILDIZ and Kemal KARABAĞ 57 Black Sea Journal of Engineering and Science Open Access Journal e-ISSN: 2619-8991 Review Volume 3 - Issue 2: 57-60 / April 2020 EFFECTS OF NEURAL GENE EXPRESSIONS ON GROOMING BEHAVIOR IN HONEY BEES Berkant İsmail YILDIZ 1 *, Kemal KARABAĞ 2 1 Akdeniz University, Graduate School of Natural and Applied Sciences, 07058, Antalya, Turkey 2 Akdeniz University, Faculty of Agriculture, Department of Agricultural Biotechnology, 07058 Antalya, Turkey Received: November 14, 2019; Accepted: January 28, 2020; Published: April 01, 2020 Abstract Grooming behavior, which is one of the behavioral resistance mechanisms based on the genetic basis in honeybees, is a defense response against parasitic mites, especially Varroa mite. In recent years, scientists and beekeepers have focused on bee breeding in terms of grooming behavior, because honey bees showing grooming behavior have the potential to can protect themselves against Varroa destructor. It is of great importance to determine the genes and gene regions related to this behavior before starting the breeding studies in terms of grooming behavior. In this respect, the right honey bee species or races can be selected and the success rate will increase. In researches, it was found that bees exhibit different grooming behaviors level according to species and races. Therefore, some species and races were found to be more successful than others. Especially in neural, developmental, detoxification and health-related gene expression studies, it has been shown that some gene expression is in direct proportion to the intensity of grooming behavior. While the genes responsible for grooming behavior are not known exactly, studies are underway to solve the genetic mechanism of this behavior. In this study, we reviewed the effects of neural gene expression on grooming behavior. Keywords: Neural gene, Grooming behavior, Honey bee *Corresponding author: Akdeniz University, Graduate School of Natural and Applied Sciences, 07058, Antalya, Turkey E mail: berkantyildizz@gmail.com (Bİ. YILDIZ) Berkant İsmail YILDIZ https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8965-6361 Kemal KARABAĞ https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4516-6480 Cite as: Yıldız Bİ, Karabağ K. 2020. Effects of neural gene expressions on grooming behavior in honey bees. BSJ Eng Sci, 3(2): 57-60. 1. Introduction Honey bees have important roles in food production and pollination of plants, as well as a model animal for studies on the molecular and neural basis of social behavior (Kamikouchi et al., 1998; Rybak and Menzel, 1998; Menzel and Giurfa, 2001; Takeuchi et al., 2001; Takeuchi et al., 2002; Kucharski and Maleszka, 2002; Kiya et al., 2007; Sen Sarma et al., 2009; Kaneko et al., 2013; Boylu and Önder, 2019). These social insects with economic value have been threatened in recent years by Colony Collapse Disorder (CCD) caused by different factors such as pathogens and parasites. It is clear that the number of individual and social bees decreases, even though there is a debate on whether there is a global pollinator crisis (Allsopp et al., 2008; Ghazoul 2005a; Ghazoul 2005b; Steffan-Dewenter et al., 2005). Honey bees are susceptible to various diseases and environmental threats that have significantly increased over the last 10 years (Genersch, 2010). Among these factors ectoparasitic mite Varroa destructor is the biggest threat to BSPublishers