Abstract
A population of honey bees (Apis mellifera mellifera
L.) with an annual colony brood cycle adapted to
a locally abundant floral source in the Landes region of
Southwest France is the subject of genetic conservation
efforts. This population is maintained by local beekeepers
in an area that experiences both an annual seasonal influx
of non-local colonies and the permanent culture of im-
ported stock. However, some colonies native to the Landes
do not have the adapted brood cycle and their status as
ecotypic are in question. The present study used mor-
phology, mitochondrial DNA and microsatellites to char-
acterize the endemic population and suggests further
genetic conservation strategies. These methods yielded
different degrees of discrimination of native and imported
colonies and provided a powerful suite of tools for local
resource managers. Colonies from the Landes could be
differentiated from non-local French
A. m. mellifera populations using morphometric analysis, and from non-native
and reference populations using mtDNA and microsatellites. Seven morphological characters were identified by
discriminant analysis as informative for delineating the
Landes ecotype from other A. m. mellifera populations.
Mitochondrial haplotypes for the population were characterized and five microsatellite loci were found to be
informative in characterizing the Landes population.
Asymmetric gene flow detected with microsatellite alleles
was observed to be 5.5–5.9% from imported to native
stocks of honey bees while introgression of native micro-
satellite alleles into imported colonies was 21.6%
Bookmarks