Stock composition of northern neotropical honey bees: mitotype and morphotype diversity in Mexico (Hymenoptera: Apidae)

The stock of honey bees in the northern neotropics is likely a composite of European and African lineages, but the genetic makeup of most populations in this region has remained unstudied. We analyzed the genetic composition of honey bees across temperate and tropical regions of Mexico using mitocho...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Apidologie 2016-09, Vol.47 (5), p.642-652
Main Authors: Domínguez-Ayala, Ricardo, Moo-Valle, Humberto, May-Itzá, William de J., Medina-Peralta, Salvador, Quezada-Euán, José Javier G.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Apiculture
Apidae
Bees
Biomedical and Life Sciences
Colonies
Entomology
Harvest
Honey
Hybridization
Hymenoptera
Life Sciences
Mitochondria
Morphometry
Original Article
Population genetics
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Summary:The stock of honey bees in the northern neotropics is likely a composite of European and African lineages, but the genetic makeup of most populations in this region has remained unstudied. We analyzed the genetic composition of honey bees across temperate and tropical regions of Mexico using mitochondrial and morphometric analyses. The results showed that honey bees from Mexico are descendent almost in similar proportion from matrilines of African and European origins. However, morphometrics indicate that most colonies are the result of extensive introgressive hybridization with Africanized bees. While large-scale displacement of European honey bees seems to have occurred in the tropical regions, higher frequencies of colonies with a mixed range of African-European markers were identified in the temperate areas. Our results suggest that the outcome of the hybridization between Africanized and European honey bees in Mexico has been significantly associated with climate.
ISSN:0044-8435
1297-9678
DOI:10.1007/s13592-015-0414-6