Free Access
| Issue |
Apidologie
Volume 31, Number 2, March-April 2000
Taxonomy and Evolutionary biology of the Honeybees
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|---|---|---|
| Page(s) | 181 - 190 | |
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1051/apido:2000115 | |
DOI: 10.1051/apido:2000115
Apidologie 31 (2000) 181-190
Mitochondrial DNA polymorphisms in honey bee subspecies from Kenya
Marina D. Meixner a,b - M. Cristina Ariasc - Walter S. Sheppardb
aInstitut für Bienenkunde, (Polytechnische Gesellschaft),
J.-W. Goethe Universität Frankfurt am Main, Karl-von-Frisch Weg 2, 61440 Oberursel, Germany
bDept. of Entomology, Washington State University, Pullman, WA 99164, USA
cDepto de Biologia, Instituto de Biociências, USP, Sao Paulo, Brazil
Abstract:
Thirty-nine samples of Apis mellifera monticola and A. m. scutellata from three different
regions of Kenya were analyzed for mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) variation using 6-base and 4-base restriction
enzymes. Restriction with HpaII and AluI resulted in distinct patterns that together produced
three different haplotypes. While haplotypes 2 and 3 were restricted to samples from the mountain forest,
haplotype 1 was found in A. m. scutellata and in all samples from the Ngong Hills. No introgression
of A. m. scutellata mtDNA was detected in bees collected in mountain environments, but a few samples
from the savanna had A. m. monticola morphology, or mtDNA, or both. These results support the
hypothesis that A. m. monticola is a distinct subspecies and not an ecotype of
A. m. scutellata. The polymorphic restriction sites were mapped. Ten samples of A. m. litorea
from the coast of Kenya were analyzed using polymerase chain reaction (PCR) amplification and subsequent
restriction analysis. All samples of A. m. litorea shared the A. m. scutellata haplotype.
Keywords:
Apis mellifera monticola / A. m. scutellata / A. m. litorea / mtDNA
polymorphism / Kenya
Correspondence and reprints: Marina D. Meixner
Institut für Zoologie, Martin-Luther Universität Halle-Wittenberg, Kröllwitzer Str. 44, 06120 Halle,
Germany
E-mail: meixner@zoologie.uni-halle.de
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