Hybridization Between European and Africanized Honey Bees in the Neotropical Yucatan Peninsula

Rinderer, Thomas E.; Stelzer, J. A.; Oldroyd, Benjamin P.; Buco, Steven M.; Rubink, William L.

doi:10.1126/science.253.5017.309

Cited by 84 publications

(51 citation statements)

References 23 publications

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“…Comparative studies of behaviour, population dynamics and morphometrics have revealed that these new bee populations are very similar to their African ancestors (summarized by Michener, 1975;Winston, 1992). Genetic polymorphism data have supported this conclusion, except in some regions where higher frequencies of European alleles can be detected (Lobo et al, 1989;Rinderer et al, 1991;Sheppard et al, 1991b). The latter phenomenon may be a result of prior high population densities or continued introduction of other honeybee races and/or ecological constraints for Africanized bees.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 53%

Morphometric isozymic and mitochondrial variability of Africanized honeybees in Costa Rica

Lobo

1995

Heredity

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Wing morphometry, isozymic variation and mitochondrial RFLPs were studied in samples of feral Africanized bees collected at three different locations in Costa Rica, two of them in the lowlands (Guanacaste and Golfito regions) and the other in the Central Valley. These data revealed a predominantly African origin at all locations. However, significant heterogeneity was found between the two lowland sites and the Central Valley for some isozyme markers as well as for the RFLPs considered in this study. Both isozymic and mitochondrial DNA European markers were more frequent in the Central Valley. This could be the result of different opportunities for European gene introgression at the beginning of the migration of Africanized honeybees. It is shown that different gene frequencies of mitochondrial and nuclear European genetic markers may exist in Africanized bee populations, and that this may result from different selection pressures among colonies with African and European queens.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 53%

Morphometric isozymic and mitochondrial variability of Africanized honeybees in Costa Rica

Lobo

1995

Heredity

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“…The restriction fragments generated by the enzyme were electrophoresed in 1.1% agar gels in TBE buffer for 5 h at 5 V/cm, stained with ethidium bromide (0.01 mg/mL), and visualized under UV light. The Eco RI restriction patterns of mtDNA make it possible to discriminate subspecies of African or European origin (Smith and Brown, 1988;Hall and Muralidharan, 1989;Sheppard et al, 1991a, Rinderer et al, 1991. Since direct Eco RI digestion of mtDNA produced no clear pattern, the cytochrome B locus was amplified by PCR and the fragment obtained was digested with Bgl II.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Genetic structure of honeybee populations from southern Brazil and Uruguay

et al. 2003

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Apis mellifera scutellata was introduced to Brazil in 1956 and Africanized honeybee populations have now spread from Argentina to the southwestern United States. Temperate climatic restrictions seem to be a natural limit to Africanized honeybee expansion around parallels 35°to 40°SL. We used allozyme loci (Mdh-1 and Hk-1) and mtDNA haplotypes to characterize honeybee populations in southern Brazil and Uruguay and define a possible transition area between Africanized and European bees. Samples of 194 bee colonies were collected from ten localities between 30°-35°SL and 52°-59°WL. The mtDNA restriction patterns of these colonies were obtained through digestion of the mitochondrial genome by Eco RI, or by digestion by Bgl II and Xba I of the cytochrome B locus and the COI-COII intergenic region, respectively. The distribution limit of African bee colonies, i.e., those populations with only the African mtDNA haplotype and with a high proportion of African genes as shown by allozyme analysis, is located in northern Uruguay, with a hybridization zone located farther south in Uruguay. A gradual cline from north to south was observed, confirmed by mtDNA, racial admixture, and genetic distance analyses. No evidence of either gametic disequilibrium between nuclear markers or cytonuclear disequilibrium among the nuclear and mtDNA genotypes was detected, suggesting that the hybridization process has been completed.

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“…In May 1998, we retraced the 10 transects through the Yucatan and Quintana Roo states of the Yucatan Peninsula chosen by Rinderer et al (1991) in 1989. Collections of adult worker bees and drones were made at four to 10 apiaries within each transect with approximately 10 colonies per apiary.…”

Section: Sampling Designmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Prior to the arrival of Africanized bees in eastern Mexico, the northward-expanding population of Africanized bees had only encountered a tiny managed European population-they had been expanding into territory in which feralhoney bees were virtually absent (Roubik and Wolda 2001). Rinderer et al (1991) showed that hybridization was occurring between European and Africanized bees in the Yucatan in 1989, and the level of hybridization appears to have increased with time (Quezada-Euán 2000). However, the possibility remained that late-generation hybrids were at a selective disadvantage (Hall 1991) and that over time Africanized genotypes would replace European ones.…”

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confidence: 99%

The Africanization of Honeybees (Apis Mellifera L.) of the Yucatan: A Study of a Massive Hybridization Event Across Time

et al. 2002

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Abstract. Until recently, African and European subspecies of the honeybee (Apis mellifera L.) had been geographically separated for around 10,000 years. However, human-assisted introductions have caused the mixing of large populations of African and European subspecies in South and Central America, permitting an unprecedented opportunity to study a large-scale hybridization event using molecular analyses. We obtained reference populations from Europe, Africa, and South America and used these to provide baseline information for a microsatellite and mitochondrial analysis of the process of Africanization of the bees of the Yucatan Peninsula, Mexico. The genetic structure of the Yucatecan population has changed dramatically over time. The pre-Africanized Yucatecan population (1985) comprised bees that were most similar to samples from southeastern Europe and northern and western Europe. Three years after the arrival of Africanized bees (1989), substantial paternal gene flow had occurred from feral Africanized drones into the resident European population, but maternal gene flow from the invading Africanized population into the local population was negligible. However by 1998, there was a radical shift with both African nuclear alleles (65%) and Africanderived mitochondria (61%) dominating the genomes of domestic colonies. We suggest that although European mitochondria may eventually be driven to extinction in the feral population, stable introgression of European nuclear alleles has occurred.

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Hybridization Between European and Africanized Honey Bees in the Neotropical Yucatan Peninsula

Cited by 84 publications

References 23 publications

Morphometric isozymic and mitochondrial variability of Africanized honeybees in Costa Rica

Morphometric isozymic and mitochondrial variability of Africanized honeybees in Costa Rica

Genetic structure of honeybee populations from southern Brazil and Uruguay

The Africanization of Honeybees (Apis Mellifera L.) of the Yucatan: A Study of a Massive Hybridization Event Across Time

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