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Genetic Differentiation of the Giant Honey Bee (Apis dorsata) in Thailand Analyzed by Mitochondrial Genes and Microsatellites

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Genetic diversity and population differentiation of the giant honey bee (Apis dorsata) in Thailand were examined. Six PCR-RFLP mitotypes were generated from digestion of the COI-COII, Cytb-tRNAser, ATPase6-8, and lrRNA genes with Dra I and Hin fI. Low genetic diversity (h=0.074, π=0.032%) and a lack of genetic population differentiation between A. dorsata originating from geographically different regions were observed from mtDNA polymorphisms (P > 0.05). In contrast, microsatellite (A14, A24, and A88) polymorphisms revealed a relatively high level of genetic diversity in A. dorsata (H o=0.68–0.74, average number of alleles per locus=6.0–9.0). Both A24 and A88 indicated significant population differentiation between bees from the north-to-central region (north, northeast, and central regions), peninsular Thailand, and Samui Island.

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ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

The authors would like to thank the Departments of Biochemistry and Biology, Faculty of Science, Chulalongkorn University, for providing facilities. This work was supported by the Thailand Research Funds (TRF) Senior Scholar award to Prof. Dr. S. Wongsiri. This research was conducted in cooperation with Louisiana State University.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Biochemistry, Faculty of Science, Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok, 10330, Thailand

    S. Insuan & S. Sittipraneed

  2. Department of Biology, Faculty of Science, Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok, 10330, Thailand

    S. Deowanish & S. Wongsiri

  3. National Center for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology, National Science and Technology Development Agency, 113 Paholyothin Road, Klong 1, Klong Luang, Pathumthani, 12120, Thailand

    S. Klinbunga

  4. Center of Excellence for Marine Biotechnology, Department of Marine Science, Faculty of Science, Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok, 10330, Thailand

    S. Klinbunga

  5. USDA, ARS, Honey-Bee Breeding, Genetics and Physiology Laboratory, 1157 Ben Hur Road, Baton Rouge, LA, 70820, USA

    H. A. Sylvester

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  1. S. Insuan
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  2. S. Deowanish
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  3. S. Klinbunga
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  4. S. Sittipraneed
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Correspondence to S. Sittipraneed.

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Insuan, S., Deowanish, S., Klinbunga, S. et al. Genetic Differentiation of the Giant Honey Bee (Apis dorsata) in Thailand Analyzed by Mitochondrial Genes and Microsatellites. Biochem Genet 45, 345–361 (2007). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10528-007-9079-9

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10528-007-9079-9

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