Morphometric and genetic characterization as tools for selection of Apis mellifera (Hymenoptera: Apidae) stocks in an area of natural hybridization in Argentina

Beekeepers around the world select bees’ characteristics that facilitate and favor production. In regions where hybridization among lineages is taking place, this selection is a challenge, given that these regions are “natural laboratories”, where the action of evolutionary processes of a population...

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Main Authors: Litvinoff, Leonardo, Menescardi, Francisco, Porrini, Leonardo, Russo, Romina Maria, Liendo, María Clara, Nucci, Alejandro, Lusarreta, Esteban, Ventura, Rocio, Espasadin, Luna, Monmany-Garzia, A. Carolina, Scannapieco, Alejandra Carla, Galindo Cardona, Alberto
Format: Artículo
Language:Inglés
Published: Frontiers Media 2023
Subjects:
Online Access:http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.12123/15170
https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/finsc.2022.1073999/full
https://doi.org/10.3389/finsc.2022.1073999
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author Litvinoff, Leonardo
Menescardi, Francisco
Porrini, Leonardo
Russo, Romina Maria
Liendo, María Clara
Nucci, Alejandro
Lusarreta, Esteban
Ventura, Rocio
Espasadin, Luna
Monmany-Garzia, A. Carolina
Scannapieco, Alejandra Carla
Galindo Cardona, Alberto
author_browse Espasadin, Luna
Galindo Cardona, Alberto
Liendo, María Clara
Litvinoff, Leonardo
Lusarreta, Esteban
Menescardi, Francisco
Monmany-Garzia, A. Carolina
Nucci, Alejandro
Porrini, Leonardo
Russo, Romina Maria
Scannapieco, Alejandra Carla
Ventura, Rocio
author_facet Litvinoff, Leonardo
Menescardi, Francisco
Porrini, Leonardo
Russo, Romina Maria
Liendo, María Clara
Nucci, Alejandro
Lusarreta, Esteban
Ventura, Rocio
Espasadin, Luna
Monmany-Garzia, A. Carolina
Scannapieco, Alejandra Carla
Galindo Cardona, Alberto
author_sort Litvinoff, Leonardo
collection INTA Digital
description Beekeepers around the world select bees’ characteristics that facilitate and favor production. In regions where hybridization among lineages is taking place, this selection is a challenge, given that these regions are “natural laboratories”, where the action of evolutionary processes of a population or species occurs in real time. A natural honeybee (Apis mellifera) hybrid zone exists in Argentina between 28° and 35° South, where Africanized (AHB) and European (EHB) populations converge. In this zone, beekeepers use selected genetic resources of European origin mostly, since the local Africanized bees show a higher defensive behavior, which is not desirable for management. Although EHB colonies have many advantages for honey production, they are not fully adapted to the subtropical climate and are susceptible to certain parasitosis such as varroosis. In addition, both AHB and EHB mate in drone congregation areas (DCAs), where males and virgin queens fly to meet, resulting in variability in the desired characteristics. In this study, we explored the degree of hybridization within a DCA and its reference apiary, located in the province of Entre Ríos, by applying two complementary techniques. First, morphotypes with different degrees of hybridization between European and African subspecies were observed in the reference apiary, indicating a high sensitivity of this morphometric approach to detect hybridization in these populations. Second, a genetic analysis revealed haplotypes of both origins for drones in DCAs, with a higher prevalence of European haplotypes, while all the colonies from the reference apiary exhibited European haplotypes. Overall, our results are in line with the strong impact that commercial beekeeping has on the genetics of DCAs. We show how wing morphometry may be used to monitor hybridization between European and African subspecies, a tool that may be evaluated in other regions of the world where hybridization occurs.
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institution Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria (INTA -Argentina)
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spelling INTA151702023-09-11T14:46:37Z Morphometric and genetic characterization as tools for selection of Apis mellifera (Hymenoptera: Apidae) stocks in an area of natural hybridization in Argentina Litvinoff, Leonardo Menescardi, Francisco Porrini, Leonardo Russo, Romina Maria Liendo, María Clara Nucci, Alejandro Lusarreta, Esteban Ventura, Rocio Espasadin, Luna Monmany-Garzia, A. Carolina Scannapieco, Alejandra Carla Galindo Cardona, Alberto Honey Bees Hybridization Drones (insects) Abeja Melífera Apis mellifera Hibridación Argentina Zánganos Africanization Drone Congregation Areas Africanización Áreas de Congregación de Drones Beekeepers around the world select bees’ characteristics that facilitate and favor production. In regions where hybridization among lineages is taking place, this selection is a challenge, given that these regions are “natural laboratories”, where the action of evolutionary processes of a population or species occurs in real time. A natural honeybee (Apis mellifera) hybrid zone exists in Argentina between 28° and 35° South, where Africanized (AHB) and European (EHB) populations converge. In this zone, beekeepers use selected genetic resources of European origin mostly, since the local Africanized bees show a higher defensive behavior, which is not desirable for management. Although EHB colonies have many advantages for honey production, they are not fully adapted to the subtropical climate and are susceptible to certain parasitosis such as varroosis. In addition, both AHB and EHB mate in drone congregation areas (DCAs), where males and virgin queens fly to meet, resulting in variability in the desired characteristics. In this study, we explored the degree of hybridization within a DCA and its reference apiary, located in the province of Entre Ríos, by applying two complementary techniques. First, morphotypes with different degrees of hybridization between European and African subspecies were observed in the reference apiary, indicating a high sensitivity of this morphometric approach to detect hybridization in these populations. Second, a genetic analysis revealed haplotypes of both origins for drones in DCAs, with a higher prevalence of European haplotypes, while all the colonies from the reference apiary exhibited European haplotypes. Overall, our results are in line with the strong impact that commercial beekeeping has on the genetics of DCAs. We show how wing morphometry may be used to monitor hybridization between European and African subspecies, a tool that may be evaluated in other regions of the world where hybridization occurs. Instituto de Genética Fil: Litvinoff, Leonardo. Reinas del Litoral SRL; Argentina Fil: Menescardi, Francisco. Reinas del Litoral SRL; Argentina Fil: Porrini, Leonardo. Instituto de Investigaciones en Producción, Sanidad y Ambiente (CONICET-UNSAM). Centro de Investigación en Abejas Sociales; Argentina Fil: Porrini, Leonardo. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentina Fil: Russo, Romina Maria. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria (INTA). Instituto de Genética; Argentina Fil: Russo, Romina Maria. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria (INTA). Instituto de Agrobiotecnología y Biología Molecular; Argentina Fil: Russo, Romina Maria. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentina Fil: Liendo, María Clara. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria (INTA). Instituto de Genética; Argentina Fil: Liendo, María Clara. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria (INTA). Instituto de Agrobiotecnología y Biología Molecular; Argentina Fil: Liendo, María Clara. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentina Fil: Nucci, Alejandro. Instituto de Investigaciones en Producción, Sanidad y Ambiente (CONICET-UNSAM). Centro de Investigación en Abejas Sociales; Argentina Fil: Nucci, Alejandro. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentina Fil: Lusarreta, Esteban. Instituto de Investigaciones en Producción, Sanidad y Ambiente (CONICET-UNSAM). Centro de Investigación en Abejas Sociales; Argentina Fil: Lusarreta, Esteban. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentina Fil: Ventura, Rocio. Instituto de Investigaciones en Producción, Sanidad y Ambiente (CONICET-UNSAM). Centro de Investigación en Abejas Sociales; Argentina Fil: Ventura, Rocio. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentina Fil: Espasadin, Luna. Fundación Miguel Lillo. Instituto de Entomología; Argentina Fil: Monmany-Garzia, A. Carolina. Universidad Nacional de Tucumán. Instituto de Ecología Regional; Argentina Fil: Monmany-Garzia, A. Carolina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentina Fil: Scannapieco, Alejandra Carla. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria (INTA). Instituto de Genética; Argentina Fil: Scannapieco, Alejandra Carla. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria (INTA). Instituto de Agrobiotecnología y Biología Molecular; Argentina Fil: Scannapieco, Alejandra Carla. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentina Fil: Galindo Cardona, Alberto. Fundación Miguel Lillo. Instituto de Entomología; Argentina Fil: Galindo Cardona, Alberto. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentina 2023-09-11T14:38:54Z 2023-09-11T14:38:54Z 2023-01 info:ar-repo/semantics/artículo info:eu-repo/semantics/article info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.12123/15170 https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/finsc.2022.1073999/full 2673-8600 https://doi.org/10.3389/finsc.2022.1073999 eng info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/ Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International (CC BY-NC-SA 4.0) application/pdf Frontiers Media Frontiers in Insect Science 2 : 1073999 (17 January 2023)
spellingShingle Honey Bees
Hybridization
Drones (insects)
Abeja Melífera
Apis mellifera
Hibridación
Argentina
Zánganos
Africanization
Drone Congregation Areas
Africanización
Áreas de Congregación de Drones
Litvinoff, Leonardo
Menescardi, Francisco
Porrini, Leonardo
Russo, Romina Maria
Liendo, María Clara
Nucci, Alejandro
Lusarreta, Esteban
Ventura, Rocio
Espasadin, Luna
Monmany-Garzia, A. Carolina
Scannapieco, Alejandra Carla
Galindo Cardona, Alberto
Morphometric and genetic characterization as tools for selection of Apis mellifera (Hymenoptera: Apidae) stocks in an area of natural hybridization in Argentina
title Morphometric and genetic characterization as tools for selection of Apis mellifera (Hymenoptera: Apidae) stocks in an area of natural hybridization in Argentina
title_full Morphometric and genetic characterization as tools for selection of Apis mellifera (Hymenoptera: Apidae) stocks in an area of natural hybridization in Argentina
title_fullStr Morphometric and genetic characterization as tools for selection of Apis mellifera (Hymenoptera: Apidae) stocks in an area of natural hybridization in Argentina
title_full_unstemmed Morphometric and genetic characterization as tools for selection of Apis mellifera (Hymenoptera: Apidae) stocks in an area of natural hybridization in Argentina
title_short Morphometric and genetic characterization as tools for selection of Apis mellifera (Hymenoptera: Apidae) stocks in an area of natural hybridization in Argentina
title_sort morphometric and genetic characterization as tools for selection of apis mellifera hymenoptera apidae stocks in an area of natural hybridization in argentina
topic Honey Bees
Hybridization
Drones (insects)
Abeja Melífera
Apis mellifera
Hibridación
Argentina
Zánganos
Africanization
Drone Congregation Areas
Africanización
Áreas de Congregación de Drones
url http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.12123/15170
https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/finsc.2022.1073999/full
https://doi.org/10.3389/finsc.2022.1073999
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