Determination of Anatolian Honeybee Biodiversity by Wing Characters

In this study, we report that there were five different subspecies and three different ecotypes defined so far in Türkiye, which has a rich biodiversity in terms of honeybee subspecies. However, recently, it has been thought that the current biodiversity is in danger of extinction due to the commercial queen bee supply and the migratory beekeeping activities from a single source. This study uses the morphometric method to reveal the current status of honeybee biodiversity in Türkiye. For this purpose, a total of 3186 worker bees were studied by samplings from 19 different provinces to represent the honeybee races and ecotypes distributed in Türkiye. We made wing preparations and established 19 landmarks on the right forewings using the BAB BsPro200 program. The program automatically obtained the wing’s metrics’ angle, length, and index values via these 19 landmarks. We used Discriminant function analysis to determine intragroup and intergroup variations by taking the colony averages from data obtained from 31 morphological characters. Given the canonical discriminant function analysis and UPGMA dendrogram, Zonguldak, Düzce, Sakarya, Artvin, Ardahan, and Trabzon constituted a group, and Edirne, Kilis, Van, and Isparta formed a separate group. Hakkari, Kahramanmaraş, and Ordu provinces formed a separate line together. On the other hand, the group centers of Kars and Kırklareli, two different ends of Türkiye, overlapped and formed a close line with Isparta. As a result, this study revealed that, although the protection measures taken at the local level effectively protected the honeybee biodiversity, these measures are insufficient

The Relationships Between Propolis Collecting Capability and Morphometric Features of Some Honey Bee Races and Ecotypes in Anatolia

Propolis collecting capacity of the honey bee race, Apismellifera L., distributed across Anatolia and Thrace regionsof Turkey was investigated and correlated withmorphometric characteristics. Thus, the propolis collectingbehaviour of honey bee races and ecotypes naturally havebeen in Turkey, Apis mellifera caucasica, Apis melliferacarnica, Apis mellifera syriaca and Yığılca and Muğlaecotype of Apis mellifera anatoliaca were monitored. Themean yield of annual propolis was recorded as the following;Yığılca ecotype (111.6±27.5 g colony) A. m. caucasica(104±20.7 g colony), Muğla ecotype (103±34 g colony), A.m. carnica (91.16±17.6 g colony), and A. m. syriaca (74±6.4g colony) in descending order. The highest propoliscollecting activity was recorded for the Yığılca ecotype of A.m. anatoliaca and A. m. caucasica. Morphological featuresof honey bee samples were evaluated by classicmorphometric technique to correlate propolis collectingcapability and morphological features. Morphometric resultsof the present study showed that the largest wing and leglengths belonged to Yığılca ecotype of A. m. anatoliaca andA. m. caucasica. Furthermore, Pearson correlation showed asignificant relationship between some morphometriccharacteristics including the proboscis and mandibularsections, wing length (WL), wing width (WW), femur length(FL), tibia length (TL), basitarsus length (BL), basitarsuswidth (BW), and propolis collecting capability (P<0.05).Therefore, it seems that the enlargement of certainmorphological properties with genetic tendency of the honeybee races and ecotypes, primarily the legs and wings, can leadto better propolis collecting capability.WOS:0005391657000092-s2.0-8508097511

Pollen analysis, chemical composition and antibacterial activity of Anatolian chestnut propolis collected from Yıgılca region

Abstract: The purpose of this study is to examine the antimicrobial and antifungal activity of propolis samples of Yıgılca honey bee against Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria and yeast-like fungi. For this purpose the pollen and chemical components analyses of propolis sample was performed. The Liquid Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) method was used to identify the compounds of the propolis samples. According to the results of pollen analysis Fagaceae family were the dominant. As a result of LC-MS/MS method the main components of propolis was pinostrobin, gallic acid, and with Syringic acid. The antimicrobial activity of the propolis samples were tested against 7 Gram (+), 4 Gram (–) and 1 acid-resistant bacteria, and 3 yeast-like fungi. First, the activity of the propolis sample against these microorganisms was determined by the agar well diffusion method, then their zones were measured. The macrodilution method was used to determine the minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) for the antimicrobial activity tests. The results of MIC values were found between 74 and 4746 µL for the tested microorganisms. It was found that Mycobacterium smegmatis was the most susceptible bacteria (74 µL), Lactobacillus acidophilus (149 µL) Staphylococcus aureus and Saccharomyces cerevisiae with a MIC concentration of 299 µL. We are opinion that, considering the biological effects of the propolis extract of Yıgılca honey bee, may be potentially used as an alternative therapeutic treatment thanks to its high antimicrobial and antifungal activity on different microorganisms, but its high in vitro activity needs to be confirmed by further research in vivo. © 2021, The Author(s)

Biodiversity of honey bees (Apis mellifera L.) in Turkey by geometric morphometric analysis

purpose, the deviations of the junction points in the right wing veins were analyzed with the Draw Wingsoftware program. Generalized Procrustes Analysis and Principal Component Analysis were performed to distinguishthe populations according to the deviations in the intersections of the wing vein angles. In the first two canonical planes,honey bee populations were divided into two main groups, Southeastern Anatolia and others. While honey bees inSoutheastern Anatolia, which differ in terms of shape morphology, formed a separate group in the UPGMAdendrogram, all the rest grouped closer with each other except Thrace region. This population was not separated fromthe others in the scatter graph but unseparated in the UPGMA dendrogram. The proximity of the Thracian honey beepopulation to other groups on the Plot supports that there may be a mixture in this region. Also, the fact that theSoutheastern Anatolia population constitutes a separate group in both dendogram and scatter graph showed that theremay be a different race in this region.Bu çalışmada, Türkiye’deki bal arısı çeşitliliğini geometrik morfometrik yöntemle açıklanmaya çalışılmıştır. Bu amaçla, sağ kanat damarlarındaki kesişim noktalarının sapmaları Draw Wing yazılım programı ile analiz edildi. Popülasyonları kanat damar açılarının kesişim yerlerindeki sapmalara göre ayırt etmek için Generalize Procrustes Analizi ve Temel Bileşen Analizi yapıldı. İlk iki kanonik düzlemde bal arısı popülasyonları Güneydoğu Anadolu ve diğerleri olmak üzere iki ana gruba ayrıldı. Şekil morfolojisi açısından farklılık gösteren Güneydoğu Anadolu'daki bal arıları UPGMA dendrogramında ayrı bir grup oluştururken, Trakya bölgesi dışında kalan populasyonların tamamı birbirine daha yakın bir grup oluşturmuştur. Trakya populasyonu UPGMA dendogramında ayrı bir grup oluşturur iken, saçılım grafiğinde diğer populasyonlardan belirgin olarak ayrılmamıştır. Trakya bal arısı popülasyonunun diğer gruplara yakınlığı bu bölgede bir karışımın olduğunu desteklemektedir. Aynı zamanda Güneydoğu Anadolu populasyonun hem dendogram hem de saçılım grafiğinde ayrı bir grup oluşturması bu bölgede farklı bir ırk bulunduğuna işaret etmektedir

Investigation of genotoxic effects of rhododendron honey using three mammalian bioassays in vivo

Rhododendron honey (RH) is obtained from the rhododendron plants are grown in many regions around the world, causes poisoning in humans due to the grayanotoxin (GTX) compound in its structure. It is used by the public as a therapeutic for some diseases. It was aimed to study the genotoxic and cytotoxic effects of RH in mouse bone-marrow and sperm cells by using three mammalian bioassays. 25, 50 and 75 mg kg(-1) concentrations of RH given to male mice via gavage for 24 and 48 h treatment periods and its active ingredient Grayanatoxin (GTX-III) 0.01 mg kg(-1) by i.p. injection. Chromosome aberrations (CA), polychromatic erythrocytes (PCE)/normochromatic erythrocytes (NCE), micronucleated polychromatic erythrocytes (MNPCE) and sperm abnormalities were investigated. The results demonstrated that all the tested concentrations of RH significantly induced total abnormal cell frequency including chromosomal breaks for two time periods. In the MN assay, 75 mg kg(-1) RH and 0.01 mg kg(-1) GTX-III significantly increased % MNPCE and significantly reduced PCE/NCE ratios after 24 and 48 h treatments on mice demonstrating potential genotoxic and cytotoxic effect. Although there was a concentration-related increase in the percentage of total sperm abnormalities, this increase was not statistically significant compared to control. As a result, microscopic genotoxicity and cytotoxicity marker tests showed that RH and its active ingredient GTX-III have potential genotoxic and cytotoxic effect on mice bone marrow cells. It is understood that RH that is used to treat some diseases by public, should be handled carefully and used in a controlled manner.Duzce University Scientific Research FundDuzce University [2013.01.01.199]This study was supported by Duzce University Scientific Research Fund [Project Number= 2013.01.01.199].WOS:0006589283000012-s2.0-85107611857PubMed: 3410032