Mitochondrial DNA Suggests the Introduction of Honeybees of African Ancestry to East-Central Europe

Local populations of Apis mellifera are rapidly changing by modern beekeeping through the introduction of nonnative queens, selection and migratory beekeeping. To assess the genetic diversity of contemporary managed honey bees in Serbia, we sequenced mitochondrial tRNAleu-cox2 intergenic region of 241 worker bees from 46 apiaries at eight localities. Nine haplotypes were observed in our samples, with C2d being the most common and widespread. To evaluate genetic diversity patterns, we compared our data with 1696 sequences from the NCBI GenBank from neighbouring countries and Serbia. All 32 detected haplotypes belonged to the Southeast Europe lineage C, with two newly described haplotypes from our sample. The most frequent haplotype was C2d, followed by C2c and C1a. To distinguish A. m. carnica from A. m. macedonica, both previously reported in Serbia, PCR-RFLP analysis on the COI gene segment of mtDNA was used, and the result showed only the presence of A.m. carnica subspecies. An MDS plot constructed on pairwise FST values showed significant geographical stratification. Our samples are grouped together, but distant from the Serbian dataset from the GenBank. This, with the absence of A. m. macedonica subspecies from its historic range of distribution in southern Serbia, indicates that honey bee populations are changing rapidly due to the anthropogenic influence.

Section: Samplingmentioning

confidence: 99%

MtDNA Analysis Indicates Human-Induced Temporal Changes of Serbian Honey Bees Diversity

Tanasković

Erić

Patenković

et al. 2021

“…Using eDNA from honey samples can easily provide a more comprehensive sampling of honey bee DNA, with cost-effective possibilities to retrieve molecular information, as in our case, where mitotype information was easily discriminated. As far as we know, all of the previous studies that monitored A. mellifera mtDNA lineage distribution over broad geographical areas analyzed single honey bees, usually collected from different colonies (e.g., [ 1 , 2 , 4 , 5 , 43 , 58 , 59 , 60 ]). This approach gave the possibility to obtain more complete information of the mitotypes, but, on the other hand, could not include, in many cases, a very large number of colonies that would be needed to assure an optimal and detailed territorial representation.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Similar explanations of the unexpected occurrence of the A lineage have been proposed by some authors, who reported African mtDNA lineages in other European countries. For example, Oleska et al [ 60 ] recently reported that about 2% of the honey bee colonies in East-Central Europe had A mitotypes.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…It would also be important to monitor the level of adaptation to the continental environment and beekeeping systems, and evaluate the productive and behavioral traits of colonies carrying the introgressed A mitotypes compared to those having other lineages. This is needed, considering that their potential origin from imported South American Africanized honey bees can pose some concerns [ 70 , 71 , 72 , 73 , 74 ], which might also open other questions related to the need to eventually regulate the genetic origin of imported queens, as already pointed out by others [ 60 ]. At present, the European Union does not have any restrictions on the importation of honey bee genetic material, apart from the issues related to health aspects [ 75 ].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Distribution of the Main Apis mellifera Mitochondrial DNA Lineages in Italy Assessed Using an Environmental DNA Approach

Utzeri

Ribani

Taurisano

et al. 2021

Growing interest has been emerging on the need to monitor the genetic integrity of the European Apis mellifera subspecies that could be threatened by the human-mediated dispersion of non-native populations and lines. Mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) lineages can provide useful information for this purpose. In this study, we took advantage of the environmental DNA (eDNA) contained in the honey, which can be analyzed to detect the main groups of mitotypes of the honey bees that produced it. In this study, we applied this eDNA to produce a distribution map all over the Italian peninsula and the two major islands (Sicily and Sardinia) of the following three honey bee mtDNA lineages: A, C and M. A total of 607 georeferenced honey samples, produced in all Italian regions, was analyzed to detect these lineages. The A lineage was widespread in Sicily, as expected, considering that A. m. siciliana carries the African lineage. Surprisingly, this lineage was also reported in about 14% of all other samples produced in almost all continental regions, and in Sardinia. The applied method obtained an updated distribution map of honey bee mtDNA lineages that could be useful to design policies for the conservation of Italian honey bee genetic resources.

“…According to this legislation, the introduction of non-native bees is under state control. Despite conservation efforts, in recent years, the illegal introduction of non-native honey bees could have occurred, as in other European countries [56].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Historical Changes in Honey Bee Wing Venation in Romania

Tofilski

Căuia²,

Siceanu³

et al. 2021

Self Cite

The honey bee (Apis mellifera) is an ecologically and economically important species that provides pollination services to natural and agricultural systems. The biodiversity of the honey bee is being endangered by the mass import of non-native queens. In many locations, it is not clear how the local populations have been affected by hybridisation between native and non-native bees. There is especially little information about temporal changes in hybridisation. In Romania, A. m. carpatica naturally occurs, and earlier studies show that there are two subpopulations separated by the Carpathian Mountains. In this study, we investigated how the arrangement of veins in bees’ wings (venation) has changed in Romanian honey bees in the last four decades. We found that in the contemporary population of Romanian bees, there are still clear differences between the intra- and extra-Carpathian subpopulations, which indicates that natural variation among honey bees is still being preserved. We also found significant differences between bees collected before and after 2000. The observed temporal changes in wing venation are most likely caused by hybridisation between native bees and non-native bees sporadically introduced by beekeepers. In order to facilitate conservation and the monitoring of native Romanian bees, we developed a method facilitating their identification.