Structure and genetic variation of the mitochondrial control region in the honey bee Apis mellifera

Rita Gonçalves , Ana Isabel Freitas , José Jesus , Pilar de La Rúa , António Brehm

AbstractAlthough the mitochondrial molecule of the honey bee is completely sequenced, the control region is rarely used for genetic inferences as in other invertebrates, due to several constraints mainly a biased A plus T content and extensive variable length repeats. Herein, we have analyzed the control region of honey bees from the Iberian Peninsula and North Atlantic islands. The information retrieved when comparing individuals from different populations was crucial to understand and characterize how the control region is organized in this species. As expected, this region in Apis mellifera appears to contain valuable although limited genetic information at the population level. Furthermore, the comparisons of the A. mellifera control region with other species of the same genus highlight the structural role of particular sequences within the A+T rich control region as proposed here.

Mots clés: Apis mellifera; control region; A+T rich region; structure; phylogeography; Iberian Peninsula; Macaronesian Islands

Domaines: Sciences du Vivant [q-bio]

Rita Gonçalves, Ana Isabel Freitas, José Jesus, Pilar de La Rúa, António Brehm. Structure and genetic variation of the mitochondrial control region in the honey bee Apis mellifera. Apidologie, 2015, 46 (4), pp.515-526. ⟨10.1007/s13592-014-0341-y⟩. ⟨hal-01284467⟩