Sustainability of honey bees through increased genetic diversity at the colony and population levels

Abstract A study was conducted on the mitochondrial DNA genetic diversity of feral colonies and swarms of Apis mellifera from ten counties in Utah by sequencing the intergenic region of the cytochrome oxidase (COI-COII) gene region. A total of 20 haplotypes were found from 174 honey bee colony samples collected from 2008 to 2017. Samples belonged to the A (African) (48%); C (Eastern Europe) (43%); M (Western Europe) (4%); and O (Oriental) lineages (5%). Ten African A lineage haplotypes were observed with two unique to Utah among A lineage haplotypes recorded in the US. Haplotypes belonging to the A lineage were observed from six Utah counties located in the southern portion of the State, from elevations as high as 1357 m. All five C lineage haplotypes that were found have been observed from queen breeders in the US. Three haplotypes of the M lineage (n=7) and two of the O lineage (n=9) were also observed. This study provides evidence that honey bees of African descent are both common and diverse in wild populations of honey bees in southern Utah. The high levels of genetic diversity of A lineage honey bee colonies in Utah provide evidence that the lineage may have been established in Utah before the introduction of A lineage honey bees from Brazil to Texas in 1990.

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Status of Breeding Practices and Genetic Diversity in Domestic U.S. Honey Bees

Honey Bee Colony Health ◽

10.1201/b11318-4 ◽

2011 ◽

pp. 25-36 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Susan W. Cobey ◽

Walter S. Sheppard ◽

David R. Tarpy

Keyword(s):

Genetic Diversity ◽

Honey Bees ◽

Breeding Practices

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Management increases genetic diversity of honey bees via admixture

Molecular Ecology ◽

10.1111/j.1365-294x.2012.05614.x ◽

2012 ◽

Vol 21 (18) ◽

pp. 4414-4421 ◽

Cited By ~ 89

Author(s):

BROCK A. HARPUR ◽

SHERMINEH MINAEI ◽

CLEMENT F. KENT ◽

AMRO ZAYED

Keyword(s):

Genetic Diversity ◽

Honey Bees

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Evaluation of genetic diversity of honey bee in Ukraine analyzed by the SSR-markers

Faktori eksperimental'noi evolucii organizmiv ◽

10.7124/feeo.v26.1241 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 26 ◽

pp. 56-60

Author(s):

D. I. Hryhorchuk ◽

A. M. Rabokon ◽

A. S. PostovoitovA ◽

N. M. Pirko ◽

Ya. V. Pirko ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Genetic Diversity ◽

Microsatellite Markers ◽

Honey Bee ◽

Ssr Markers ◽

Honey Bees ◽

Molecular Genetic ◽

Molecular Genetic Analysis ◽

Analysis Method ◽

Ssr Analysis ◽

Silver Nitrate Staining

Aim. The aim of the work was to analyze current genetic structure of honey bee populations in Ukraine that belong to different subspecies: A. meliffera meliffera, A. meliffera carnica, A. meliffera macedonica using microsatellite markers. Methods. SSR-analysis was used for evaluation of the honey bee polymorphism. Amplified fragments were fractionated by electrophoresis in non-denaturing polyacrylamide gel. DNA bands were detected using silver nitrate staining. Results. The analysis of the sample of honey bees (workers and male-bees) collected from different regions of Ukraine was performed by using two SSR-markers (Ac011 and A007). In this sample reasonably high polymorphism was observed, especially for the SSR-marker A007. Conclusions. It was estimated that SSR-analysis method can be applied in molecular-genetic analysis of honey bees for evaluation of genetic diversity and cross-subspecies hybridization. Keywords: microsatellite markers, Apis meliffera, PIC (Polymorphism Information Content).

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Genetic diversity and population structure of two subspecies of western honey bees (Apis mellifera L.) in the Republic of South Africa as revealed by microsatellite genotyping

PeerJ ◽

10.7717/peerj.8280 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 8 ◽

pp. e8280

Author(s):

Amin Eimanifar ◽

Johanna T. Pieplow ◽

Alireza Asem ◽

James D. Ellis

Keyword(s):

South Africa ◽

Genetic Diversity ◽

Population Structure ◽

Apis Mellifera ◽

Honey Bees ◽

Molecular Ecology ◽

Apis Mellifera Capensis ◽

Nucleotide Polymorphisms ◽

Invasive Pests ◽

The Republic

Apis mellifera scutellata and Apis mellifera capensis, two native subspecies of western honey bees in the Republic of South Africa (RSA), are important to beekeepers in their native region because beekeepers use these bees for honey production and pollination purposes. Additionally, both bees are important invasive pests outside of their native ranges. Recently, whole mitogenome sequencing and single nucleotide polymorphisms were used to study their genetic diversity. To add to our knowledge of the molecular ecology of both bees, we tested the ability of microsatellites to be used as a tool to discriminate between A.m. capensis and A.m. scutellata. We analyzed the genetic variability and overall population structure of both bee subspecies and hybrids of the two by genotyping individuals collected from RSA (N = 813 bees from 75 apiaries) at 19 microsatellite DNA loci. Overall, populations averaged between 9.2 and 11.3 alleles per locus, with unbiased heterozygosity values ranging from 0.81 to 0.86 per population. Bayesian clustering analyses revealed two distinct evolutionary units, though the results did not match those of earlier morphometric and molecular analyses. This suggests that the microsatellites we tested were not sufficient for subspecies identification purposes, especially for Cape and hybrid bees. Nevertheless, the microsatellite data highlight the considerable genetic diversity within both populations and a larger-than-expected hybridization zone between the natural distributions of A.m. capensis and A.m. scutellata.

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GENETIC DIVERSITY OF HONEY BEE POPULATIONS IN TURKEY BASED ON MICROSATELLITE MARKERS: A COMPARISON BETWEEN MIGRATORY VERSUS STATIONARY APIARIES AND ISOLATED REGIONS VERSUS REGIONS OPEN TO MIGRATORY BEEKEEPING

10.31237/osf.io/gkusw ◽

2019 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Mert Kükrer

Keyword(s):

Genetic Diversity ◽

Population Structure ◽

Microsatellite Markers ◽

Honey Bee ◽

Honey Bees ◽

Phylogenetic Trees ◽

The Status ◽

Genetic Impact ◽

Geographic Populations ◽

Ecological Importance

The honey bee (Apis mellifera L.) is a globally significant species of apparent economic and ecological importance. Recent reports from Spain, Italy and Greece point to an intense admixture of honey bee populations signified by a loss of population structure. This is mostly attributed to migratory beekeeping practices and replacement of queens or colonies with commercial ones that are usually from non-native races or hybrids of different subspecies. These two practices are also heavily carried out in parts of Turkey where almost three-quarters of the 6 million colonies are transferred seasonally from one region to other.Past research using microsatellite and RAPD markers, mtDNA, allozymes and geometric morphometry revealed the presence of five different subspecies of honey bees (meda, syriaca,caucasica, anatoliaca and an ecotype from Carniolan subspecies group) inTurkey. Here, we carried out an analysis of population structure of Turkish honeybees sampled from six different regions (n = 250) during the period 2010-2012. A total of 29 microsatellite markers were used in four multiplex reactions. The results show that population structure is preserved in general although there are signs of gene flow between the clusters.Overall FST between stationary colonies was calculated as 0,067. For migratory colonies the value was 0,015 and for all the 250 samples the value was 0,047. Four different clusters corresponding to geographical distributions of four subspecies were revealed in structure analysis. The differentiation between the clusters was also apparent in PCA and FCA as well as phylogenetic trees constructed based on genetic distances.The genetic impact of migratory beekeeping was demonstrated for the first time based on a comparison of assignment probabilities of individuals from migratory and stationary colonies to their geographic populations. Another comparison between regions that are either open to migratory beekeeping or closed let us to evaluate the status of isolated regions and showed the importance of establishing such regions. The effects of queen and colony trade were revealed by the presence of introgression from the highly commercial Caucasian bees. Our findings confirm the previously observed high levels geographically structured genetic diversity in honey bees of Turkey and emphasize the need to develop policies to maintain this diversity.

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Genetic diversity of the complementary sex-determiner (csd) gene in two closed breeding stocks of Varroa -resistant honey bees

Apidologie ◽

10.1007/s13592-020-00790-1 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 51 (6) ◽

pp. 1125-1132

Author(s):

Lelania Bilodeau ◽

Arian Avalos ◽

Robert G. Danka

Keyword(s):

Genetic Diversity ◽

Honey Bee ◽

Honey Bees ◽

Sequence Similarity ◽

Variable Region ◽

Breeding Programs ◽

Frequency Distributions ◽

Low Genetic Diversity ◽

Breeding Populations ◽

Periodic Monitoring

AbstractHoney bee (Apis mellifera) breeding programs that use a closed mating system are particularly vulnerable to low genetic diversity. Inadequate diversity at the complementary sex-determiner (csd) locus is problematic and potentially catastrophic in honey bee populations because it causes low brood viability. In typical commercial populations, queens are open mated and csd diversity is fostered by high rates of introgression. In this study, we examine genetic diversity within the highly variable region (HVR) of csd in two stocks bred for resistance to Varroa destructor: Pol-line and Hilo, both of which use closed mating systems. We sampled 47 Pol-line colonies and 41 Hilo colonies and found 60 protein alleles that were condensed into 35 allele groupings by sequence similarity. We found that proportionately, HVR diversity levels were comparable with those in other closed breeding populations as well as open-mated populations of A. mellifera worldwide. Distinct patterns are observed among Pol-line and Hilo csd protein alleles in both the phylogeny and allele frequency distributions, suggesting early divergence of the two stocks. When compared with an African outgroup, both stocks shared alleles with the outgroup, suggesting ancestral lineages are present and not all diversity is due to new mutations. Periodic monitoring of csd diversity is recommended for closed breeding programs. The csd diversity data reported here are currently being used to make breeding decisions in these two mite-resistant populations of honey bees.

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