Genetic diversity of honey bee (Apis mellifera L.: Hymenoptera: Apidae) populations in Turkey revealed by RAPD markers

WOS: 000298506200003The honeybee, Apis mellifera L. is an ecologically and economically important insect species. Recent honey bee losses causing decline of bee diversity is found alarming for the pollination of both wild plant biodiversity and crop production. Therefore, determination of genetic diversity of honey bee populations is essential and will provide a valuable resource for conservation purposes. Twenty Random Amplified Polymorphic DNA (RAPD) primers were used to assess the genetic diversity in 720 worker bees collected from 360 colonies of 25 provinces in Turkey. Ten out of twenty primers produced 105 reproducible, bright bands, all were polymorphic. Mean genetic diversity values ranged between 0.035 and 0.175, coefficient of gene differentiation (G(ST)) values were estimated as 0.060 to 0.441, and the private band patterns reflected a high level of genetic variation. Analysis of Molecular Variance (AMOVA) partitioned the total genetic variation as 60% within, 40% among populations. The Mantel test did not reveal significant correlation between the genetic and geographic distances. First three Eigen values of principle coordinate analysis explained 63% of total variation, 27, 21, and 15% for the first, second and third respectively. The cluster analysis showed that the honey bees of Thrace region of Turkey and an island at a short distance were clustered together. The other two populations from southeastern Anatolia which belong to African lineage according to mitochondrial DNA analysis formed a separate cluster and rest of the populations which belong to north Mediterranean branch (C lineage) formed the third cluster. The results showed that genetic variability of honey bee populations from Turkey are determined using RAPD markers and provide information for future management and conservation plans.Middle East Technical UniversityMiddle East Technical University [DPT-2004K120510]We are thankful to the beekeepers for their help in collecting samples and to the Faculty Development Program (OYP) of the Middle East Technical University for the financial support (DPT-2004K120510)

Türkiye'deki hijyenik bal arısı islah çalışması süresince nosema enfeksiyon düzeyinin takibi]

The objective of this study was to follow Nosema infection levels and species under hygienic bee breeding program for resistance to American foulbrood (Paenibacillus larvae). The incidence of Nosema parasite infection levels and detection of the species of Nosema were evaluated in 5 periods during 2012-2014 for Mugla honey bees known as an ecotype of Apis mellifera anatoliaca in the hygienic bee breeding program. During the hygienic breeding program, no organic or synthetic chemical treatments were applied against nosemosis in the colonies. The incidences of Nosema spores were followed in 123 colonies at five time periods. Although the correlations were negative for between spores-temperature ( r = - 0.115; P> 0.01) and positive for spores-humidity ( r = 0.013; P> 0.01) but not significant statistically. Molecular diagnosis showed that only N. ceranae spores were detected from samples during 5 seasons. In conclusion, nosema infection levels decreased under hygienic bee breeding programme but further monitoring studies should be performed in order to decide whether the nosema spores decrease due to hygienic behavior. To our knowledge, this is the first long-term and unique study for observation of Nosema during breeding program in Turkey so far

Arıcılıkta Bazı Biyoteknolojik Gelişmelere Bakış

Arıcılıktaki araştırmalar birçok bilim dalının ışığında yapılmakta olup biyoteknoloji bunlardan biridir. İklimde yaşanan değişimler, arıların beslenme ve besin kaynaklarını etkilerken, son yıllarda hastalık ve zararlıların giderek artması ve kimyasal ilaçlara karşı gerek arının gerekse de parazit ve patojenlerin direnç geliştirmeleri sebebiyle hastalık etmenlerine bu kimyasalların çare olamaması arıcılıkta biyoteknolojik çalışmalara yönelimi hızlandırmıştır. Hastalıklara dirençli / verimli arı ırklarının ve mevcut katkı maddelerinin geliştirilmesiyle birlikte, yeni yem kaynakları oluşturulmasına yönelik biyoteknolojik araştırmalar yapılmaktadır. Özellikle dünyadaki gelişmelere uyum sağlamak sürdürülebilir arıcılık faaliyetleri açısından da oldukça önem taşımaktadır. Bu çalışmada bal arısı ve arıcılık sektöründe yapılmış bazı biyoteknolojik araştırmalar incelenerek bu alandaki gelişmelerin ortaya konulması ve yakın gelecekte yapılacak çalışmalara ışık tutulması amaçlanmıştır

The genetic history of the Southern Arc: a bridge between West Asia and Europe

By sequencing 727 ancient individuals from the Southern Arc (Anatolia and its neighbors in Southeastern Europe and West Asia) over 10,000 years, we contextualize its Chalcolithic period and Bronze Age (about 5000 to 1000 BCE), when extensive gene flow entangled it with the Eurasian steppe. Two streams of migration transmitted Caucasus and Anatolian/Levantine ancestry northward, and the Yamnaya pastoralists, formed on the steppe, then spread southward into the Balkans and across the Caucasus into Armenia, where they left numerous patrilineal descendants. Anatolia was transformed by intra–West Asian gene flow, with negligible impact of the later Yamnaya migrations. This contrasts with all other regions where Indo-European languages were spoken, suggesting that the homeland of the Indo-Anatolian language family was in West Asia, with only secondary dispersals of non-Anatolian Indo-Europeans from the steppe

A comparative study of Early Bronze Age chronological systems in thrace

Yüksek Lisans TeziTrakya, batıda Struma Nehri, doğuda İstanbul Boğazı, güneyde Ege Denizi ve kuzeyde Balkan Dağları ile sınırlanan bölgeyi içine almaktadır. Trakya olarak adlandırılan bölge günümüzde, Türkiye, Bulgaristan ve Yunanistan olmak üzere 3 ülkenin sınırları içersinde yer almaktadır. Bu tez çalışması, Trakya Bölgesi'ndeki İTÇ kronolojisinin oluşturulma ölçütlerini saptamayı hedeflemektedir. Bu amaç doğrultusunda, Trakya'da İTÇ kronolojisinin oluşturulmasına anahtar olabilecek kazısı yapılan yerleşim yerleri 4 alt bölgeye ayrılarak incelenmiştir: Batı Trakya, Doğu Trakya, Karadeniz Sahil Kesimi ve Yunanistan Trakyası. Bu alt bölgeler arasında, Doğu Trakya olarak adlandırdığımız bölgenin sınırları, hem Türkiye hem de Bulgaristan topraklarını kapsayan Trakya'daki en geniş bölgeyi karakterize etmektedir. Bu nedenle aslında Trakya'daki İTÇ kronolojisinin anlaşılmasında iki ülkede yapılan kazıların can alıcı önemi bulunmaktadır. Bununla birlikte Türkiye Trakyası'nda İlk Tunç Çağı'na tarihlenen sadece iki yerleşimin yerinin kazıldığı (Kanlıgeçit ve Menekşe Çatağı) Bulgaristan Trakya'sında ise onlarca kazısı yapılan İTÇ yerleşiminin bulunduğu saptanmıştır. Bulgaristan Trakyası'nda çok sayıda İTÇ yerleşimi kazılmış olmasına rağmen sadece Ezero Höyük'ün ayrıntılı yayını yapılmıştır. Bu nedenle Trakya İTÇ kronolojisinin hala anlaşılamayan birçok noktasının bulunmasının gerisinde yayın (Bulgaristan) ve araştırma eksikliğinin (Türkiye) uzandığı tespit edilmiştir.Thrace is bordered by Struma River in the West, by Bosphorus in the East, by the Aegean Sea in the South and Balkan Mountains in the North. This region now includes three modern countries, namely Turkey, Bulgaria and Greece. The aim of this thesis is to define the criteria of the Early Bronze Age in Thrace. For this purpose, the excavated sites which are accepted as the key sites in the establishment of EBA chronology in Thrace are investigated by dividing the region into 4 subregion: Eastern Thrace, Western Thrace, Black Sea Shores and Thracian Greece. Among these sub-regions Eastern Thrace which includes both Bulgarian and Turkish Thrace represents the largest part of the region in question. Thus, the excavations of EBA sites in both countries have crucial importance in the establishment of the chronology in Thrace. However, two EBA sites (Kanlıgeçit and Menekşe Çatağı) in Turkish Thrace have been excavated so far while many of them have excavated in Bulgarian Thrace. Despite of considerable amount of excavated EBA sites in Bulgarian Thrace, only Ezero Höyük was published in detail. Therefore, it has been defined that the basic reason of the difficulties in the establishment of Thracian EBA chronology is either because of the lack of insufficient excavataions (in Turkish Thrace) or the absence of the proper publications of the excavated sites (in Bulgarian sites)

A comparison of genetic variations among native and some local chicken populations in Turkey

WOS: 000389296100003Genetic variations among native and local chicken populations in six different locations across Turkey were established using 15 ISSR primers, and produced 87 bright and reproducible bands. According to pairwise genetic differentiation among the populations (G(sr)), the highest genetic differentiation was determined between the Samsun and Yozgat population and the lowest was observed between the Dulkadirli and Budak populations. Shannon's index was calculated to be 0.239. The gene flow (Nm) among the populations was estimated to be 3.489. Analysis of Molecular Variance (AMOVA) identified 13% of the total genetic variation between the populations and the rest of the differences were 87% within the populations. Cluster analysis revealed two main branches, one leading to the domestic chicken population collected from Samsun in the Black Sea region of Turkey, the other branch clustered into two branches; one branch consisting of the Denizli Native Chicken population and the other one of domestic chicken populations sampled from Central Anatolia populations. The study is important to clarify the indigenous chicken genetic resources in Turkey. The results could be used for future breeding research conducted by either the public or private sectors

Genetic Analyses of Some Central Anatolian Domestic Duck Populations with Inter Simple Sequence Repeat (ISSR): A Preliminary Study

WOS: 000365465700027The aim of this study is to investigate the genetic structure of some domestic duck populations from Kirsehir and Yozgat provinces of the Central Anatolia region of Turkey. Blood samples were obtained from the venae cutenea ulnaris of 76 ducks from four different locations. Eleven ISSR primers produced 73 reproducible and bright bands. The number of polymorphic loci was 72 and the percentage of polymorphic loci was 98.6%. Gene diversity (H-T) in total population and magnitude of differentiation among populations (G(ST)) were 0.198 and 0.183, respectively. The genetic distances between regions under investigation were found among 0.0157 and 0.0991. Analysis of molecular variance (AMOVA) reflected that 83% of within variation and 17% among population variation. First three given values of principle coordinate analysis explained 69.8% of total variation as 45.6, 13.8 and 10.4%, respectively. The dendrogram showed two main branches: one contains Kirsehir (L1, L2, L3), the other includes Yozgat region (L4). Shannon's Information index (I) value was 0. 331. The gene flow (Nm) among populations was analyzed and Nm value was estimated as 2.23 with the low level of differentiation among populations. The results indicated that genetic variations of some Central Anatolian domestic duck populations are determined using ISSR marker and might provide information for future breeding strategies

Türkiye balarısı (Apis mellifera L.) populasyonlarının rastgele çoğaltılmış poşimorfik DNA (rapd) ve mikrosatelit analizleri ile genetik çeşitliliğinin belirlenmesi ve karşılaştırılması.

We analyzed a total of 760 worker bees, two samples per colony, 390 colonies in 26 provinces in Turkey to determine and compare the genetic variation of Turkish honey bee (Apis mellifera L.) populations using 10 primers for RAPD and 6 microsatellite loci. Mean gene diversity levels ranged from 0.035 (Sanlıurfa) to 0.175 (Antalya) for RAPD and 0.449 (Muğla) to 0.739 (Artvin) for microsatellite markers. Private band patterns and alleles, pairwise FST values support that the Anatolian honey bees belong to C lineage except for Hatay and Sanlıurfa populations illustrated from previous findings of mitochondrial DNA studies. Genetic differentiation (GST) from RAPD data ranged from 0.060 (Bilecik and Muğla) to 0.395 (Gökçeada and Sanlıurfa). The genetic diversity (FST) for microsatellites ranged from -0.068 (Gökçeada and Đzmir) to 0.347 (Konya and Muğla). The results of the present research are in agreement to that of previous study in Turkish honey bee populations which used different microsatellite loci. That is the genetic variation was the highest in African, the lowest in European and intermediate in the Mediterranean honey bee populations. The data presented here indicate that in spite of extensive migratory beekeeping, there is still a large genetic differentiation among honey bee populations. These results should be considered in establishment of conservation plans particularly in moving of colonies between regions. The most importantly introduction of bees with foreign origin and distribution queen bees from one center to all over the country which will homogenize the gene pool of the populations should be preventedPh.D. - Doctoral Progra

Estimation of genetic distance in meat and layer pure lines using randomly amplified polymorphic DNA

WOS: 000178687000021The purpose of this study was to evaluate genetic similarities and distances among pure lines of poultry using the RAPID technique. In this study four layer and three meat type pure lines were used. Verous blood samples from five males and five females of each line were collected from the venae cutenea ulnaris. The RAPID technique was used to generate a DNA fingerprint of lines. Initially, a total of 35 primers having arbitrary sequences were used for RAPID analysis. The amplicons were resolved on 1.5% agarose gel and stained with ethidium bromide. To evaluate the bands, polymorphic and monomorphic bands were described. Genetic similarities and genetic distances were calculated in meat and layer pure lines. The RAPID analysis data from 23 primers were utilized in estimating genetic similarities, which ranged from 0.644 to 0.853 between the lines. The maximum genetic distance was observed between the L2 meat dam line and L4 layer sire line (0.440)

Genetic diversity of honey bee (Apis mellifera L.: Hymenoptera: Apidae) populations in Turkey revealed by RAPD markers

The honeybee, Apis mellifera L. is an ecologically and economically important insect species. Recent honey bee losses causing decline of bee diversity is found alarming for the pollination of both wild plant biodiversity and crop production. Therefore, determination of genetic diversity of honey bee populations is essential and will provide a valuable resource for conservation purposes. Twenty Random Amplified Polymorphic DNA (RAPD) primers were used to assess the genetic diversity in 720 worker bees collected from 360 colonies of 25 provinces in Turkey. Ten out of twenty primers produced 105 reproducible, bright bands, all were polymorphic. Mean genetic diversity values ranged between 0.035 and 0.175, coefficient of gene differentiation (G(ST)) values were estimated as 0.060 to 0.441, and the private band patterns reflected a high level of genetic variation. Analysis of Molecular Variance (AMOVA) partitioned the total genetic variation as 60% within, 40% among populations. The Mantel test did not reveal significant correlation between the genetic and geographic distances. First three Eigen values of principle coordinate analysis explained 63% of total variation, 27, 21, and 15% for the first, second and third respectively. The cluster analysis showed that the honey bees of Thrace region of Turkey and an island at a short distance were clustered together. The other two populations from southeastern Anatolia which belong to African lineage according to mitochondrial DNA analysis formed a separate cluster and rest of the populations which belong to north Mediterranean branch (C lineage) formed the third cluster. The results showed that genetic variability of honey bee populations from Turkey are determined using RAPD markers and provide information for future management and conservation plans