Biogeography of Apis cerana F. and A. nigrocincta Smith: Insights from mtDNA studies

Abstract

This study adds new data from Korea and the Philippines to earlier mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA)-based studies of the phylogeography of Asian cavity-nesting honeybees. A non-coding region that lies between the leucine tRNA gene and the cytochrome oxidase II gene of the mitochondrial genome was sequenced in bees from 153 colonies of Apis cerana and A. nigrocincta, revealing 41 different haplotypes. Five sequences could not be aligned with the others, two (from India and Sri Lanka) because the sequences were exceedingly A+T rich, and three (from Taiwan, the Philippines, and A. nigrocincta) because most of the non-coding sequence was absent. The remaining 36 sequences were aligned, and used in a phylogenetic analysis of A. cerana and A. nigrocincta populations. Both neighbor-joining and parsimony analyses were carried out, yielding similar results. We found five major groups of haplotypes: an Asian mainland group, a Sundaland group, a Palawan group, a Luzon-Mindanao group, and A. nigrocincta. The geographic distribution of these mtDNA haplotypes appears to be strongly influenced by changes in sea-level during Pleistocene glaciations.

Source or Periodical Title

Apidologie

ISSN

448435

Page

265-279

Document Type

Article

Subject

A. nigrocincta, Apis cerana, Biogeography, mtDNA, Phylogeny

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