Free Access
Issue
Apidologie
Volume 27, Number 5, 1996
Asian honeybees
Page(s) 415 - 422
DOI https://doi.org/10.1051/apido:19960509
Apidologie 27 (1996) 415-422
DOI: 10.1051/apido:19960509

Apis nulensis Tingek, Koeniger and Koeniger, 1996 and its genetic relationship with sympatric species inferred from DNA sequences

M.C. Ariasa, S. Tingekb, A. Kelitub and W.S. Sheppardc

a  USDA-ARS, Bee Research Laboratory, Bldg 476, BARC-E, Beltsville, MD 20705, USA
b  Agricultural Research Station, Lagud Seberang, Peti Surat 197, Tenom 89908, Sabah, Malaysia
c  Department of Entomology, Washington State University, 166 FSHN Building, Pullman, WA 99164, USA

Abstract - Apis nuluensis Tingek, Koeniger and Koeniger is a new species recently described by Tingek et al (1996) on the basis of morphological and behavioral characters. To understand the genetic relationship between the new species and sympatric species of the A cerana group from Borneo, two different DNA regions of nuclear (EF-1α intron) and mitochondrial (ND2 gene) origin were amplified and sequenced. Phylogenetic analyses of the sequences indicate that A nuluensis and A cerana are sister taxa. The apparent paraphyly of A cerana with respect to A nuluensis, may result from relatively recent speciation of A nuluensis from the isolated A cerana population of Borneo. However, further studies of A cerana across its range are needed to clarify the status of Bornean populations.


Key words: Apis nuluensis / phylogeny / molecular systematics / DNA / nucleotide sequence