Genetic divergence and phylogenetic relationships of honey bee Apis mellifera (Hymenoptera: Apidae) populations from Greece and Cyprus using PCR – RFLP analysis of three mtDNA segments

The genetic structure and phylogenetic relationships among six honey bee populations were studied using RFLP analysis on three PCR-amplified mtDNA gene segments (16s rDNA, CO I, and ND 5). The populations were sampled from various areas of Greece and Cyprus and correspond to Apis mellifera adami, A. m. macedonica, A. m. cecropia, and A. m. cypria races, based on origin (Ruttner, 1988). Seven, eight and seven restriction enzymes were found to have at least one recognition site at the 16s rDNA, CO I, and ND 5 segments, respectively. Seven different haplotypes were detected and diagnostic patterns enabled us to discriminate A. m. macedonica from the rest of the populations (races). The estimated net nucleotide sequence divergence among the populations examined was found to range from 0.00 to 1.18 with the highest value observed to be between A. m. macedonica and non-A. m. macedonica populations. The trees obtained (by UPGMA and Dollo parsimony methods) revealed that the most distant population was that of A. m. macedonica