Morphology, morphometrics, and molecular characteristics of Apis cerana and Apis nigrocincta from Central Sulawesi, Indonesia

Systematics of honey bees has developed rapidly. Several studies have attempted to infer the kinship between each group of honey bees. One approach is the use identification and phylogenetic analysis using combination of morphology, morphometric, and molecular characteristics data. There are three species of honey bees found in the Central Sulawesi, namely Apis dorsata, A. cerana and A. nigrocincta. The last two species mentioned have similar biological properties, so they present some difficulties to identify especially with morphological characters only. The results showed that the two Apis bee species analyzed in this study, had similar morphological features compared to specimens of the same species from the other regions, whereas the morphometry of the two had variations in size compared to the same species that have been reported in other regions. The variations in the size or morphometric character of worker bees, both those with a larger or smaller size, possibly being a form of morphological adaptation to different environmental conditions. The CO1 and 16S Mitochondrial DNA sequencesof A. cerana and A. nigrocincta from this studywere similarto thesequences of the same species in the GeneBank’s database. This study provide preliminary data contributing to the preservation and utilization of one of Indonesia’s important biodiversity resources.

A Review: Honey and Its Nutritional Composition

Honey is one of the historical natural products produced by honey bees. Humans used it as medicine and protection against some infectious diseases, a honey quale is dependent in its classification of the honey bee. The most famous accomplished honey bees in the world are Africanized honey bee (Apis mellıfera .l), Western honey bee or European honey bee (Apis mellifera), Eastern honey bee (Apis cerana), Philippine honey bee (Apis nigrocincta), Koschevnikovs honey bee (A. koschevnikovi), Giant Honeybees (Apis dorsata), Dwarf Honeybees (Apis andreniformis). This study collected the health effect, quality and usage of honey in several industries; also argue about the nutritious value of honey that the most important parts are protein, carbohydrates, vitamin, and minerals. Honey is not only a nutrient it also plays a major role in many other products, uses of honey in cosmetics as a protective and softener of skin, it is used up to 22% in paste masks and mud packs (which are considered rinse-off formulations). Uses of honey in Ayurveda for prevention of irritation, cough, healthy teeth, gums, and boons. Production of honey has been compared in 2013 to 2018, in 2013 the world production of honey was 1,664 thousand tones with an increase of 1/3 in just two decades. China, where manufacturing amounted to 466.3 thousand tons, i.e. approximately 29% of the global volume of output, these are showing that China was the biggest producer of honey in the world but it gets a decrease in 2018 as well as Brazil, America, Russia, Ethiopia, and Iran. And it increases in Turkey, Argentine, India, Mexico, and Poland.

Uji Aktivitas Antimikroba Ekstrak n-Butanol Madu Hutan (Apis nigrocincta) dari Kabupaten Selayar dengan Metode KLT-Bioautografi

Preliminary research has been conducted on the antimicrobial activity of n-Butanol extract of forest honey (Apis nigrocincta). This study aims to determine the antimicrobial activity of forest honey from Selayar Regency on the growth of test microbes, using the method of solid dilution with the test microbial Bacillus subtilis, Staphylococcus aureus, Streptococcus mutans, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Salmonella typhi, Escherichia coli, Vibrio sp, Staphylococcus epidermidis, and Candida albicans against n-butanol extract from forest honey (Apis nigrocincta) at 1 mg/ml. The results obtained showed that n-butanol extract inhibited the growth of bacteria Bacillus subtilis, Escherichia coli, Staphylococcus aureus, Staphylococcus epidermidis, and Staphylococcus aureus. To estimate the compounds that provide antimicrobial activity, the TLC-Bioautography test is performed. Obtained the best results from the separation of compounds by TLC using Chlorophorom eluate: Acetone (3: 1). The TLC-Bioautographic test results showed that the spots with an Rf value of 0.29 gave activity to Bacillus subtilis, Escherichia coli, and Staphylococcus epidermidis, and gave positive results on the appearance of flavonoid compounds.

Bacterial Composition, Community Structure, and Diversity in Apis nigrocincta Gut

Understanding the honeybee gut bacteria is an essential aspect as honeybees are the primary pollinators of many crops. In this study, the honeybee-associated gut bacteria were investigated by targeting the V3-V4 region of 16S rRNA genes using the Illumina MiSeq. The adult worker was captured in an urban area in a dense settlement. In total, 83,018 reads were obtained, revealing six phyla from 749 bacterial operational taxonomic units (OTUs). The gut was dominated by Proteobacteria (58% of the total reads, including Enterobacteriaceae 28.2%, Erwinia 6.43%, and Klebsiella 4.90%), Firmicutes (29% of the total reads, including Lactococcus garvieae 13.45%, Lactobacillus spp. 8.19%, and Enterococcus spp. 4.47%), and Actinobacteria (8% of the total reads, including Bifidobacterium spp. 7.96%). Many of these bacteria belong to the group of lactic acid bacteria (LAB), which was claimed to be composed of beneficial bacteria involved in maintaining a healthy host. The honeybee was identified as Apis nigrocincta based on an identity BLAST search of its COI region. This study is the first report on the gut microbial community structure and composition of A. nigrocincta from Indonesia.

Antibacterial Activities of Culture-dependent Bacteria Isolated from Apis nigrocincta Gut

Introduction: Apis nigrocincta is a honeybee endemic to Mindanao island (the Philippines), Sangihe island (North Sulawesi, Indonesia) and Sulawesi mainland (Indonesia). The genus Apis is well known to have symbiont in their guts, which helps balance the microbiome in the gut and host health. Objective: The objective of this study was to determine whether the bacteria isolated from the gut of honeybee Apis nigrocincta produce metabolites with potential growth inhibition against Staphylococcus aureus and Escerichia coli, the bacteria which are important pathogens in humans and animals. Methods: Bacteria isolated from honeybee gut were cultured in MRSA and several isolates were purified for testing. The antibacterial activity test method used in this study was well diffusion agar. Pure isolates were grown on NB. The treatments given were heating and also neutralizing the supernatant from each isolate. Results: Five bacterial isolates were successfully isolated from honeybee gut and purified. The five isolates showed antibacterial activity against pathogenic bacterial strain indicators. The results of molecular identification showed that four of these isolates were Bacillus cereus and the other one was Staphylococcus arlettae. Neutralized supernatant showed strong activity on both indicator strains. The five isolates showed higher inhibition activity against S. aureus compared to E. coli. Conclusion: The finding of this research concluded that two bacterial strains, B. cereus and S. arlettae isolated from A. nigrocincta gut can be investigated further as agents which produce bioactive compounds that have potential as an antibacterial.

Assessment of Genetic Variation in Apis nigrocincta (Hymenoptera: Apidae) in Sulawesi Revealed by Partial Mitochondrial Cytochrome Oxidase I Gene Sequences

Asian cavity-nesting honey bee Apis nigrocincta, a native bee species from Sulawesi and the Philippines, plays a vital role in pollinating flowering plants in local ecosystem and agriculture. In this study, we assessed the intraspecific genetic variation of A. nigrocincta using the sequence of cytochrome c oxidase subunit I (COI). Molecular phylogenetic analysis showed that there were three main clades in A. nigrocincta specimens from Sulawesi based on their respective locations (North, Central, and South Sulawesi). Genetic distance analysis using the Kimura 2-parameter (K2P) model showed that the intraspecific genetic distance in Sulawesi specimens ranged from 0.000 to 0.055. There are 26 nucleotide polymorphic sites within Sulawesi A. nigrocincta. The variation was dominated by transition T ↔ C. The molecular identification result was supported by morphological identification. The results of the two methods agree that the specimen under study was A. nigrocincta. The result of genetic distance calculation indicated that although the tested specimens were derived from remote locations, the genetic variation was still within the range of intraspecific variation.

Keanekaragaman Serangga Penyerbuk di Perkebunan Sayuran Kelurahan Rurukan Kota Tomohon (Diversity of Pollinator Insects in the Vegetable Plantation of Rurukan, Tomohon City)

Keanekaragaman Serangga Penyerbuk di Perkebunan Sayuran Kelurahan Rurukan Kota Tomohon (Diversity of Pollinator Insects in the Vegetable Plantation of Rurukan, Tomohon City) Samuel Masawet, Roni Koneri*), Farha N.J.Dapas Jurusan Biologi, Fakultas Matematika dan Ilmu Pengetahuan Alam, Universitas Sam Ratulangi, Manado, Indonesia*E-mail: [email protected] Diterima 5 Juli 2019, diterima untuk dipublikasi 10 Agustus 2019 ABSTRAKKehadiran serangga penyerbuk sangat berperan penting dalam proses penyerbukan. Hal ini disebabkan karena serangga tersebut mentransfer tepungsari dari anther ke stigma yang menyebabkan terjadinya pembuahan. Penelitian ini bertujuan untuk menganalisis keanekaragaman serangga penyerbuk di perkebunan sayuran di Kelurahan Rurukan Kota Tomohon. Pengambilan sampel dilakukan pada tiga tipe lahan yaitu perkebunan labu siam, wortel, dan pinggir hutan. Pada masing-masing titik pengambilan sampel dibuat tiga plot berukuran 20m x 20m dengan jarak antar plot 20 m. Teknik pengamatan serangga penyerbuk menggunakan metode scan sampling. Hasil penelitian didapatkan 14 famili yang terdiri dari 24 spesies dan 2.185 individu. Ordo yang paling banyak ditemukan adalah Hymenoptera, sedangkan spesies yang memiliki kelimpahan tertinggi yaitu Apis nigrocincta. Keanekaragaman spesies penyerbuk tertinggi ditemukan pada lahan perkebunan wortel. Keanekaragaman spesies penyerbuk dipengaruhi oleh tipe perbunggaan, warna bunga, bau bunga dan kandungan nektar dari bunga. Kata kunci: Keanekaragaman, serangga penyerbuk, lahan pertanian, Desa Rurukan ABSTRACTThe presence of insect pollinators plays an important role in pollination processes. This is because the insects transfer the Tepungsari from anther to the stigma that causes the occurrence of fertilization. This research aims to analyse the diversity of insect pollinators in vegetable plantations in the village of Rurukan in Tomohon. Sampling was carried out on three types of land namely pumpkin plantations, carrots, and forest edges. At each sampling point was made three plots measuring 20 m x 20 m with a distance between plot was 20 m. Insect pollinators observation technique using sampling scan method. The results of the study gained 14 families consisting of 24 species and 2,185 individuals. The most widely discovered order was Hymenoptera, while the species which has the highest abundance was Apis nigrocincta. The highest diversity of the pollinator species was found on carrot plantation land. The diversity of pollinator species is influenced by the type of flowering, color of flowers, smell of flowers and the nectar content of flowers. Keywords: Diversity, pollinators Insects, agricultural land, Rurukan village.