2007 Annual Report 1a.Objectives (from AD-416) Conduct marker-assisted breeding to determine Genes responsible for Honey Bee Resistance to Varroa Mites and other bee pests (e.g., Tracheal Mite in Russian Bees, Chalkbrood Resistance in many bee lines). 1b.Approach (from AD-416) BeeBase now consists of a genome viewer and a comparative map viewer. The genome viewer includes tracks for known honey bee genes, STS markers. ESTs, etc. The comparative map viewer displays linkage maps and the physical map (genome assembly), and highlights markers common among maps. Planned enhancements are a QTL viewer and a gene expression database. To connect the genome sequence to biology, we will identify homologs of bee predicted genes, compute gene ontologies and curate literature associated with closely related genes in other model organisms. 3.Progress Report This report serves to document research conducted under a Specific Cooperative Agreement between ARS and Texas A&M University. Additional details of research can be found in the report for the in-house project 6413-21000-010-00D, "Breeding, Genetics, Stock Improvement and Management of Russian Honey Bees for Mite Control and Pollination." This project was monitored through discussions with the ADODR and the cooperator. A subordinate project is a cooperative program with Texas A&M University to develop a more accessible and informative representation of the honey bee genome. Scaffolds and contigs for chromosomes/groups of the A. mellifera genome were manually joined to form superscaffolds. All sequence features are displayed according to their position on the chromosomes. FY 08: Improve Russian honey bee identification by adding micro satellite and single nuclear polymorphisms (SNP) markers to the existing identification system. This project was monitored through discussions with the ADODR and the cooperator.