Distribution of honey bee mitochondrial DNA haplotypes in an Italian region where a legislative act is protecting the Apis mellifera ligustica subspecies.

ABSTRACT: The conservation of the genetic integrity of Apis mellifera subspecies has emerged as an important objective. In 2019, the Emilia-Romagna region became the first Italian regional authority to issue a law specifically addressing the protection of the native Apis mellifera ligustica subspecies. In this study we analysed a highly informative portion of the mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA), widely used for assessing genetic diversity of honey bee populations. By analysing 1143 honey bees sampled after the introduction of this law, we provided a snapshot of the distribution of mtDNA haplotypes in this region. The two most frequent mtDNA haplotypes were C1 (characteristic of A. m. ligustica) and C2 (characteristic of A. m. carnica), reported in 86.5% and 11.0% of the analysed bees, respectively. About

SUBMITTER: Taurisano V 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11375103 | biostudies-literature | 2024 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature