Current genetic status of honey bees in Anatolia in terms of thirty polymorphic microsatellite markers

Abstract

Turkey, having three phytogeographical floristic regions, is a natural bridge among three continents. A lot of subspecies and ecotypes of honey bees have been reported within Turkey. However, hybridization due to informal cultivation and uncontrolled migratory beekeeping practices are thought to affect the genetic diversity of local honey bee populations, and this may result the loss of allele combinations resulting from long evolutionary processes. Numerous identification and conservation studies on honey bee subspecies have been conducted in many countries to determine the loss of genetic variability. On this basis, genetic causes and phylogenetic relationships of four common honey bee subspecies [Apis mellifera anatoliaca Maa, 1953, Apis mellifera carnica Pollmann, 1879, Apis mellifera caucasica Pollmann, 1889, Apis mellifera syriaca Skorikov, 1829 (Hymenoptera: Apidae)] from five provinces (Artvin, Duzce, Hatay, Kirklareli and Muya) selected based on their importance in apicultural activities were studied using 30 microsatellite loci in 2018. The genetic distances of populations ranged from 0.30 to 0.70. Genetic variation was 8.96% among the populations, 44.9% among the individuals within the populations and 46.1% for all individuals. Further genetic researches on the honey bee populations will be of advantage for anticipating potential future problems.