Transferability of microsatellite primers developed for stingless bees to four other species of the genus Melipona

Abstract

ABSTRACT. Microsatellite markers are a useful tool for ecological monitoring of natural and managed populations. A technical limitation is the necessity for investment in the development of primers. Heterologous primers can provide an alternative to searching for new loci. In bees, these markers have been used in populational and intracolonial genetic analyses. The genus Melipona has the largest number of species among bee genera, about 70, occurring throughout the Neotropical region. However, only five species of the genus Melipona have specific microsatellite markers. Given the great diversity of this genus, this number is not representative. We analyzed the transferability of 49 microsatellite loci to four other species of the genus Melipona (M. scutellaris, M. mondury, M. mandacaia, and M. quadrifasciata). Four individuals of each species, from different localities, were used in amplification tests. Primer pairs described for five Melipona species and for Trigona carbonaria were tested. Among the 49 loci, ©FUNPEC-RP www.funpecrp.com.br Genetics and Molecular Research 10 (4): 3942-3947 (2011) Transferability of microsatellite primers among Melipona 3943 22 gave amplification products for all four species, while three gave nonspecific bands and five showed no amplification products. The remaining loci varied in the pattern of amplification, according to the species examined. The number of alleles ranged from 1 to 6. The results demonstrate the possibility of using these heterologous markers in other Melipona species, increasing the number of loci that can be analyzed and contributing to further genetic analyses of intra-and intercolonial structure, which is required for conservation measure planning, genetic improvement and resolution of taxonomic problems.

Mating frequency and maternity of males in Melipona mondury (Hymenoptera: Apidae)

“…Our results suggest that when the primer annealing sites are conserved (Francini et al 2010;Viana et al 2011), allele diversity depends on factors that contribute to the evolutionary dynamics of microsatellites, such as repeat number, type of the nucleotide motif, perfection of repeat structure, and recombination (Bhargava and Fuentes 2010). Also, the allele diversity was higher than those reported by other studies of stingless bees using microsatellites loci (Tavares et al 2007;Koser et al 2014).…”

Aspectos bioecológicos e genético-comportamentais envolvidos na conservação da abelha Jandaíra, Melipona subnitida Ducke (Apidae, Meliponini), e o uso de ferramentas moleculares nos estudos de diversidade

“…Um deles foi realizado por Viana et al (2011), os quais avaliaram a transferabilidade de 49 loci microssatélites desenvolvidos para M. bicolor (Peters et al, 1998), M. rufiventris (Lopes et al, 2009), M. mondury (Lopes et al, 2010), M. interrupta manaosensis (Francini et al, 2010), M. seminigra merrillae (Francini et al, 2009) e Trigona carbonaria (Green et al, 2001) *regiões flanqueadoras conservadas do distanciamento evolutivo entre as espécies (Lopes et al, 2010;Fernandes et al, 2012).…”

“…Em função disso, diversos trabalhos vêm empregando marcadores desenvolvidos para espécies de táxons próximos, tendo por base a conservação das sequências adjacentes à região de repetição. Estudos têm comprovado a eficácia de marcadores microssatélites transferidos, inclusive a partir de gêneros diferentes (Lopes et al, 2010;Alves et al, 2011;Viana et al, 2011). Porém, para que se tenha uma avaliação genética adequada, é necessário que se conheçam aspectos bioecológicos e comportamentais da espécie.…”

Estudio de microsatélites en las abejas sin aguijón Melipona colimana y M. beecheii de Mesoamérica

“…Lopes et al (2010) demostraron que el uso de microsatélites especí-ficos dio una mayor frecuencia de polimorfismo y de alelos por locus en dos especies del género Melipona que al usar marcadores diseñados para otras especies del mismo género. Igualmente Viana et al (2011) pusieron en marca el análisis de microsatélites en cuatro especies de Melipona usando cebadores diseñados para otras especies del mismo género.…”