Quantitative traits loci (QTL) involved in body colour, wing morphometry, cuticular hydrocarbons and venom components in honeybee

Florence Mougel , Michel Solignac , Dominique Vautrin , Emmanuelle Baudry , John Ogden , Alain Tchapla , Hugues Schweitz , Hélène Gilbert

In order to detect quantitative trait loci (QTL) on body composition and venom characteristics of honeybees, two F2 backcross progenies issued from crosses between subspecies Apis mellifera mellifera and Apis mellifera ligustica were genotyped for microsatellite markers and characterized for 31 quantitative traits. Three traits were recorded for body colour, 11 for wing morphometry, 12 for cuticular hydrocarbons and five for venom components. We detected 50 QTL responsible for quantitative variations in these traits, seven of which showed putative pleiotropy. Most of the QTL were specific to one progeny, revealing allelic variation of these QTL within the parental subspecies. The position of some of these QTL was accurately determined, with the minimum confidence interval reaching 76 kb and 1.5 cM, and containing a single gene.

Mots clés: honeybee; genetics; QTL; morphometry; cuticular hydrocarbons; venom

Domaines: Zoologie des invertébrés; Biodiversité; Ecologie, Environnement; Science des productions animales

Florence Mougel, Michel Solignac, Dominique Vautrin, Emmanuelle Baudry, John Ogden, et al.. Quantitative traits loci (QTL) involved in body colour, wing morphometry, cuticular hydrocarbons and venom components in honeybee. Apidologie, 2012, 43 (2), pp.162-181. ⟨10.1007/s13592-011-0090-0⟩. ⟨hal-01003629⟩