A morphological and mitochondrial assessment of Apis mellifera from Palermo, Italy

Sinacori, A.; Rinderer, Thomas E.; Lancaster, Vicki; Sheppard, Walter S.

doi:10.1051/apido:19980601

Cited by 23 publications

(16 citation statements)

References 9 publications

(21 reference statements)

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“…This is also an explanation for the diffusion of mitotypes A outside the African continent into the Americas, the Iberian Peninsula and the Mediterranean Islands (Fig. 1Hall & Muralidharan, 1989; Smith et al ., 1989, 1991; Hall & Smith, 1991; Garnery et al ., 1993, 1995; Sheppard et al ., 1997; Sinacori et al ., 1998). Interestingly, the diffusion of the African mitochondrial genome into southern Europe and the Americas does not necessarily correspond to the ‘Africanization’ of the nuclear genome (Lobo & Krieger, 1992, 2000a; Franck et al ., 1998).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Genetic diversity of the honeybee in Africa: microsatellite and mitochondrial data

et al. 2001

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A total of 738 colonies from 64 localities along the African continent have been analysed using the DraI RFLP of the COI-COII mitochondrial region. Mitochondrial DNA of African honeybees appears to be composed of three highly divergent lineages. The African lineage previously reported (named A) is present in almost all the localities except those from north-eastern Africa. In this area, two newly described lineages (called O and Y), putatively originating from the Near East, are observed in high proportion. This suggests an important differentiation of Ethiopian and Egyptian honeybees from those of other African areas. The A lineage is also present in high proportion in populations from the Iberian Peninsula and Sicily. Furthermore, eight populations from Morocco, Guinea, Malawi and South Africa have been assayed with six microsatellite loci and compared to a set of eight additional populations from Europe and the Middle East. The African populations display higher genetic variability than European populations at all microsatellite loci studied thus far. This suggests that African populations have larger effective sizes than European ones. According to their microsatellite allele frequencies, the eight African populations cluster together, but are divided in two subgroups. These are the populations from Morocco and those from the other African countries. The populations from southern Europe show very low levels of 'Africanization' at nuclear microsatellite loci. Because nuclear and mitochondrial DNA often display discordant patterns of differentiation in the honeybee, the use of both kinds of markers is preferable when assessing the phylogeography of Apis mellifera and to determine the taxonomic status of the subspecies.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Genetic diversity of the honeybee in Africa: microsatellite and mitochondrial data

et al. 2001

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“…These subspecies have different mainland origins. An African origin has been shown for the honeybee populations on Sicily (Arias and Sheppard, 1996;Garnery et al, 1993;Sinacori et al, 1998) and Malta . Cypriot honeybees show an European origin based on mitochondrial markers, but from the morphological point of view they belong to the Near East O branch (Kandemir et al, 2006;Bouga et al, 2005b), and the Cretan honeybee is also included in the Near East O branch, based on morphology.…”

Section: Evolutionary Lineages and Subspecies Distribution In Europementioning

confidence: 92%

Biodiversity, conservation and current threats to European honeybees

Rúa¹,

Jaffé²,

Dall’Olio³

et al. 2009

Apidologie

341

251

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-Europe harbours several endemic honeybee (Apis mellifera) subspecies. Yet the distribution of these subspecies is nowadays also much influenced by beekeeping activities. Large scale migratory beekeeping and trade in queens, coupled with the promiscuous mating system of honeybees, have exposed native European honeybees to increasing introgressive hybridization with managed non-native subspecies, which may lead to the loss of valuable combinations of traits shaped by natural selection. Other threats to European honeybees are factors that have caused a progressive decline in A. mellifera throughout the world in recent years, leading to large economic losses and jeopardizing ecosystem functioning. We review the biodiversity of European honeybees and summarize the management and conservation strategies employed by different countries. A comprehensive picture of the beekeeping industry in Europe is also provided. Finally we evaluate the potential threats affecting the biodiversity of European honeybee populations and provide some perspectives for future research.Apis mellifera / subspecies / biogeography / conservation / Europe / beekeeping

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“…Apis mellifera siciliana, previously named A. m. sicula Montagano, 1911; differs behaviourally and ecologically from A. m. ligustica and the other Mediterranean subspecies (Vecchi, 1927;Vecchi & Giavarini, 1950;Giavarini, 1953;Carlisle, 1955;Albert, 1970;Genduso & Albert, 1973;Cornuet et al, 1975;Ruttner et al, 1978;Ruttner, 1986;Sinacori et al, 1998;Uzunov et al, 2014). Its ability to reduce or interrupt brood rearing during the summer months, when pollen and nectar sources are scarce, also controls infestations of the parasitic Varroa mite, making it the preferred subspecies for honey production in the arid central area of Sicily (Sinacori et al, 1998).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Estimating introgression in Apis mellifera siciliana populations: are the conservation islands really effective?

Muñoz

Dall’Olio

Lodesani

et al. 2014

Insect Conserv Diversity

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Apis mellifera siciliana is a honey bee subspecies prone to be conserved. Conservation measures include maintaining colonies on different islands to serve as parental lines for outcrossing. Molecular diversity and genetic structure of honey bees from Sicily (main island) and Vulcano and Filicudi (conservation islands) were analysed with mitochondrial and microsatellite markers to assess the efficacy of the ongoing conservation effort. Samples from continental Italy and Sardinia island were included for comparison. All the samples of the conservation islands were included in the African (A) evolutionary lineage, while western and northern (M) and eastern (C) European evolutionary lineages were also detected in colonies from the main island (17.1% and 22% respectively), thus highlighting introgression at the mitochondrial level. Nuclear data from conservation and main island populations were compared to evaluate the proportion of admixed honey bees. A higher level of hybridization was found in the central and eastern areas of Sicily main island. Our data describe the efficacy of the conservation islands, and suggest where and how to manage mating stations to further improve the present conservation strategy by recovering additional residual genetic variability of A. m. siciliana. We also propose the establishment of a European network of conservation islands to preserve honey bee subspecies and to implement research studies of adaptation to peculiar climatic conditions.

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A morphological and mitochondrial assessment of Apis mellifera from Palermo, Italy

Cited by 23 publications

References 9 publications

Genetic diversity of the honeybee in Africa: microsatellite and mitochondrial data

Genetic diversity of the honeybee in Africa: microsatellite and mitochondrial data

Biodiversity, conservation and current threats to European honeybees

Estimating introgression in Apis mellifera siciliana populations: are the conservation islands really effective?

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