Biochemical and molecular characterization for three subspecies of honey bee worker, Apis mellifera L. (Hymenoptera:Apidae) in Egypt

Abstract

Protein, isozymes and RAPD-PCR were conducted to assess the biochemical and molecular characterization for three subspecies of honey bee worker, Apis mellifera L. Low polymorphism percentages were recorded in different protein patterns ranging from 18 to 42%. Eighteen, five and four unique bands distinguished the Egyptian, the Italian and the Carniolan subspecies, respectively. The isozyme systems recorded low polymorphism percentages, except peroxidase (67%). High levels of polymorphism were observed in RAPD-PCR profiles. 28 unique bands were identified out of 39 polymorphic ones; fourteen in the Egyptian subspecies, six in the Italian subspecies and eight in the Carniolan subspecies. These unique bands were considered as molecular markers for these subspecies. The dendrogram separated the Egyptian subspecies from the other two subspecies with a highly genetic distance of 0.25. The Italian and Carniolan subspecies were grouped into one main cluster with a genetic distance of 0.01 between them.