Genetic Stock Identification of Russian Honey Bees

Abstract

A genetic stock certification assay was developed to distinguish Russian honey bees from other European (Apis mellifera L.) stocks that are commercially produced in the United States. In total, 11 microsatellite and five single-nucleotide polymorphism loci were used. Loci were selected for relatively high levels of homogeneity within each group and for differences in allele frequencies between groups. A baseline sample consisted of the 18 lines of Russian honey bees released to the Russian Bee Breeders Association and bees from 34 queen breeders representing commercially produced European honey bee stocks. Suitability tests of the baseline sample pool showed high levels of accuracy. The probability of correct assignment was 94.2% for non-Russian bees and 93.3% for Russian bees. A neighbor-joining phenogram representing genetic distance data showed clear distinction of Russian and non-Russian honey bee stocks. Furthermore, a test of appropriate sample size showed a sample of eight bees per colony maximizes accuracy and consistency of the results. An additional 34 samples were tested as blind samples (origin unknown to those collecting data) to determine accuracy of individual assignment tests. Only one of these samples was incorrectly assigned. The 18 current breeding lines were represented among the 2009 blind sampling, demonstrating temporal stability of the genetic stock identification assay. The certification assay will be used through services provided by a service laboratory, by the Russian Bee Breeders Association to genetically certify their stock. The genetic certification will be used in conjunction with continued selection for favorable traits, such as honey production and varroa and tracheal mite resistance.

Genome-wide patterns of differentiation within and among U.S. commercial honey bee stocks

“…We show that Pol-line and Hilo are the most distinct among the stocks, with the largest number of differentiated markers. These results confirm previous work indicating a high degree of admixture among honey bee populations in North America [44] and that targeted breeding for very specific traits can quickly differentiate populations.…”

“…This supports the case that introgression from external Italian honey bee populations exists either from their population of origin (e.g. [ 50 ]) or after their introduction in the U.S. For example, while Russian honey bee stock is produced as part of a closed network of breeders [ 44 ], queens are produced via natural mating. As such, there is an increased likelihood of admixture, as has been seen in recent stock assessment [ 51 ].…”

An economical and effective high‐throughput DNA extraction protocol for molecular marker analysis in honeybees

“…It is known that the anion products of dissolved salts individually affect the aggregation or precipitation of proteins from solutions such that the efficacies can be described by the Hofmeister series (Zhang & Cremer, ; Kunz, ). Although many DNA extraction protocols (Bourgeois et al., , ; Bourgeois & Rinderer, ) and kits use acetate salts (potassium or ammonium), we chose to focus on sodium chloride due to its availability and universal use in a variety of laboratories. Chloride anion is considered a marginally functional salting‐out factor, somewhat less effective than acetate on the Hofmeister series.…”

“…Traditional phenol‐chloroform extractions require handling, storage, and disposal of hazardous organic solvents. Honey bee DNA has recently been effectively extracted and purified by homogenization and utilizing proteinase K and ‘salting‐out’ methods to remove proteins (Bourgeois et al., , ; Bourgeois & Rinderer, ). However, we developed a simple, cost‐effective, and fast method using only sodium chloride and sodium dodecylsulfate (SDS) to extract clean DNA directly useable for PCR without additional dilution as is typically required.…”

Beekeeping Genetic Resources and Retrieval of Honey Bee Apis mellifera L. Stock in the Russian Federation: A Review

“…In recent decades, beekeepers have been attempting to find "the best bee" for honey production [19]. As a consequence, foreign bees were introduced by beekeepers into non-native environments [20,[43][44][45][46][47]. The traits of longevity, gentleness and high honey production were examined in local and foreign honey bees [44,48].…”