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Apis mellifera evolutionary lineages in Northern Africa: Libya, where orient meets occident

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Abstract

The distribution of various evolutionary lineages of Apis mellifera subspecies in Africa is still controversial. We sampled honeybees from eight coastal locations and three Saharan oases in Libya and analyzed mtDNA variability with restriction fragment length polymorphisms and the sequence of the tRNAleu-cox2 intergenic region. Haplotypes belonging to the oriental O evolutionary lineage, including four which are newly described, were detected in all investigated locations. Haplotypes belonging to the European M lineage were rarely detected, probably reflecting the effect of sporadic importations. Honeybees belonging to the A lineage were detected in Al Aziziyah and Zlitan close to the Tunisian border. The distribution of the O lineage extends westward up to the border between Libya and Tunisia, a contact area between the O and A lineages. Various Libyan honeybee populations in Saharan oases are characterized by novel and unique haplotypes (O4, O5, O5′ and O5″). These might be natural relic populations that became isolated when the North African Sahara desert was still grassland (0.126–0.168 Myr ago).

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Acknowledgments

We thank Mustafa El-Fituri for his help in collecting samples. This work is financed by the Ministry of High Education of Libya (TS) and the EU Commission DG Research (Strategic Research Project FOOD-CT-2006-022568 BEE SHOP) (RFAM). PDR and IM are supported by the programs “Ramón y Cajal” and “Formación del Personal Universitario” of the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institut für Biologie, Martin-Luther-Universität Halle-Wittenberg, Hoher Weg 4, 06099, Halle/Saale, Germany

    T. Shaibi & R. F. A. Moritz

  2. Área de Biología Animal, Dpto. de Zoología y Antropología Física, Facultad de Veterinaria, Universidad de Murcia, 30100, Murcia, Spain

    I. Muñoz & P. De la Rúa

  3. CRA-API, Unità di Ricerca di Apicoltura e Bachicoltura, Via di Saliceto 80, 40128, Bologna, Italy

    R. Dall′Olio & M. Lodesani

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  1. T. Shaibi
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  2. I. Muñoz
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  3. R. Dall′Olio
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  4. M. Lodesani
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  5. P. De la Rúa
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  6. R. F. A. Moritz
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Correspondence to T. Shaibi.

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Shaibi, T., Muñoz, I., Dall′Olio, R. et al. Apis mellifera evolutionary lineages in Northern Africa: Libya, where orient meets occident. Insect. Soc. 56, 293–300 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00040-009-0023-3

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00040-009-0023-3

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