Genetic diversity of the eastern honey bee (Apis cerana) in Changbai Mountain

ABSTRACT

Apis cerana in Changbai Mountain is the only eastern honey bee ecotype in Northeast China, which can adapt well to the local agricultural and ecological environment. We analysed the genetic diversity and genetic characteristics of A. cerana in Changbai Mountain using five microsatellite markers, a mitochondrial marker of a tRNA^leu-CO II fragment, and 21 morphological markers. Our results showed that the genetic diversity of A. cerana in Changbai Mountain was higher than that found in previous studies. There were 11 haplotypes, among which Haplotype Changbai Mountain 1 was the major haplotype. There was no genetic differentiation in morphometric was found in Apis cerana of Changbai Mountain in Jilin (JL) individuals, and the Liaoning (LN) individuals was significantly different from the Jilin (JL) and Heilongjiang (HL) individuals. Based on the genetic diversity of A. cerana in Changbai Mountain, we also suggested some strategies for the protection and utilisation of the genetic resources of this species in Changbai Mountain.

KEYWORDS:

• Apis cerana
• Changbai mountain
• microsatellite
• morphology
• tRNA^leu-CO II

Acknowledgments

The authors are especially grateful to all beekeepers, friends of apiculture in the sampling area, and other contributors who provided the valuable samples for this work. We would also thank Sangon Biotech (Shanghai) Company Limited for their help.

Author contributions

LF, LL and LN designed and coordinated the research. WQ and SZ wrote the main manuscript text, WD and ZY analysed the sequencing data. All authors reviewed the manuscript.

Data availability statement

The datasets generated during and/or analysed during the current study are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.

Supplementary material

Supplemental data for this article can be accessed online at https://doi.org/10.1080/00305316.2023.2281384.

Additional information

Funding

This work was financially supported by the Doctoral Scientific Research Foundation of Jilin Agricultural Science and Technology University, No.(2022)751.