Haplotypes of the tRNAleu-COII mtDNA Region in Russian Apis mellifera Populations.

Analysis of the mtDNA tRNAleu-COII locus is a widely used tool to establish belonging to a particular evolutionary lineage of Apis mellifera L. (lineages A, M, C, O, and Y). In Russia, most of the area was once inhabited by Apis mellifera mellifera from the M evolutionary lineage, but the introduction of bee subspecies from the southern regions of Russia (A. m. caucasica, A. m. carnica) and from abroad (A. m. carnica, A. m. ligustica) led to fragmentation of their native range. In this study, the results of assessing the haplotype number for the tRNAleu-COII locus of mtDNA in Russian Apis mellifera populations were presented. We analyzed 269 colonies from 19 regions of Russia. As a result, two evolutionary lineages were identified: the East European lineage C (26.4%) and the Northwestern European lineage M (73.6%). A total of 29 haplotypes were identified, 8 of them were already reported, and 21 were found to be novel. From the C lineage, haplotypes C1, C2, C2c, C2j, and C3 were predominant. All M lineage samples from Russia belong to the M17 and M4' haplogroups but have only minor variations in the form of nucleotide substitutions. An analysis of publications devoted to the tRNAleu-COII locus haplotypes, as well as an analysis of the available tRNAleu-COII sequences in GenBank, showed that there is still a problem with the haplotype nomenclature.

The Carniolan Honeybee from Slovenia-A Complete and Annotated Mitochondrial Genome with Comparisons to Closely Related Apis mellifera Subspecies.

The complete mitochondrial genome of the Carniolan honeybee (Apis mellifera carnica) from Slovenia, a homeland of this subspecies, was acquired in two contigs from WGS data and annotated. The newly obtained mitochondrial genome is a circular closed loop of 16,447 bp. It comprises 37 genes (13 protein coding genes, 22 tRNA genes, and 2 rRNA genes) and an AT-rich control region. The order of the tRNA genes resembles the order characteristic of A. mellifera. The mitogenomic sequence of A. m. carnica from Slovenia contains 44 uniquely coded sites in comparison to the closely related subspecies A. m. ligustica and to A. m. carnica from Austria. Furthermore, 24 differences were recognised in comparison between A. m. carnica and A. m. ligustica subspecies. Among them, there are three SNPs that affect translation in the nd2, nd4, and cox2 genes, respectively. The phylogenetic placement of A. m. carnica from Slovenia within C lineage deviates from the expected position and changes the perspective on relationship between C and O lineages. The results of this study represent a valuable addition to the information available in the phylogenomic studies of A. mellifera-a pollinator species of worldwide importance. Such genomic information is essential for this local subspecies' conservation and preservation as well as its breeding and selection.

The mitochondrial genome of the Carniolan honey bee, Apis mellifera carnica (Insecta: Hymenoptera: Apidae).

Sequencing the mitochondrial genome of the Carniolan honey bee, Apis mellifera carnica, revealed 16,358 bp, consisting of 13 protein-coding genes, 22 tRNA genes, two rRNA genes, and a control region. Phylogenetic analysis supported a close relationship to another south-eastern European (C-lineage) honey bee, A. m. ligustica.