Population structure of honey bees in the Carpathian Basin (Hungary) confirms introgression from surrounding subspecies. Issue 23 (4th November 2015)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Péntek‐Zakar, Erika; Oleksa, Andrzej; Borowik, Tomasz; Kusza, Szilvia
• Is Part Of: Ecology and evolution. Volume 5:Issue 23(2015:Dec.)
• Page Start: 5456
• Page End: 5467
• Publication Date: 2015-11-04
• Subjects: Carniolan honey bee -- genetic diversity -- Hungary -- introgression -- microsatellite -- mitochondrial DNA; Ecology -- Periodicals; Evolution -- Periodicals; 577.05
• DOI: 10.1002/ece3.1781
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 2045-7758

Abstract

Abstract: Carniolan honey bees ( Apis mellifera carnica ) are considered as an indigenous subspecies in Hungary adapted to most of the ecological and climatic conditions in this area. However, during the last decades Hungarian beekeepers have recognized morphological signs of the Italian honey bee ( Apis mellifera ligustica ). As the natural distribution of the honey bee subspecies can be affected by the importation of honey bee queens or by natural gene flow, we aimed at determining the genetic structure and characteristics of the local honey bee population using molecular markers. All together, 48 Hungarian and 84 foreign (Italian, Polish, Spanish, Liberian) pupae and/or workers were used for mitochondrial DNA analysis. Additionally, 53 sequences corresponding to 10 subspecies and the Buckfast hybrid were downloaded from GenBank. For the nuclear analysis, 236 Hungarian and 106 foreign honey bees were genotyped using nine microsatellites. Heterozygosity values, population‐specific alleles, FST values, principal coordinate analysis, assignment tests, structure analysis, and dendrograms were calculated. Haplotype and nucleotide diversity values showed moderate values. We found that one haplotype (H9) was dominant in Hungary. The presence of the black honey bee ( Apis mellifera mellifera ) was negligible, but a few individuals resembling other subspecies were identified. We proved that the Hungarian honey bee population is nearly homogeneous but also demonstrated introgression from the foreign subspecies. Both mitochondrial DNA and microsatellite analyses corroborated the observations of the beekeepers. Molecular analyses suggested that Carniolan honey bee in Hungary is slightly affected by Italian and black honey bee introgression. Genetic differences were detected between Polish and Hungarian Carniolan honey bee populations, suggesting the existence of at least two different gene pools within A. m. carnica . Abstract : In this paper, we report on the structure and diversity of Carpathian basin (mainly Hungarian) honeybee populations and the presence of possible foreign subspecies using mitochondrial and nuclear DNA markers. The Hungarian population was basically homogeneous, although a small‐scale gene flow was observed. The results of this research provide new knowledge about genetic variability and useful information for conservation proposes.