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Maternal diversity patterns of Ibero-Atlantic populations reveal further complexity of Iberian honeybees

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Abstract

Dissecting complex diversity patterns typically exhibited by organisms of hybrid zones is among the greatest challenges in evolutionary biology. This has been a long-standing goal of numerous Iberian honeybee studies. Herein, we further contribute to this goal by a fine-scale maternal survey of the Portuguese honeybee populations. In addition to confirm a predicted African ancestry of Portuguese populations and negligible levels of C-lineage introgression, our fine-scale survey revealed unparalleled levels of African maternal diversity and a remarkable north–south cline formed by African haplotypes of distinct ancestry. This survey further highlights the distinctiveness of A pis mellifera iberiensis by showing the existence of highly contrasting diversity patterns between the Atlantic and Mediterranean populations. Our findings further support an ancient natural invasion of the Iberian Peninsula possibly by Apis mellifera intermissa and also by Apis mellifera sahariensis. Protecting this African legacy is of unquestionable importance, especially with Iberia becoming warmer and dryer.

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Acknowledgments

We are profoundly grateful to numerous collaborators of the Divisões de Intervenção Veterinária (Direcção Geral de Alimentação e Veterinária), Laboratórios de Patologia Apícola, and Associações de Apicultores, who kindly provided the samples. Thanks are also owed to Miguel Vaz-Pinto for GIS assistance and Larissa Souza for helping with DNA extractions. Two referees and the editor Marina Meixner made useful comments. Financial support was provided by Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia and COMPETE/QREN/EU (project PTDC/BIA-BEC/099640/2008), Programa Apícola Nacional (Medida 6A) to M. A. Pinto, and by Fundación Séneca (project 11961/PI/09) to P. De la Rúa. I. Muñoz is supported by the Ministry of Education, Culture and Sports.

Les profils de la diversité maternelle des populations ibéro-atlantiques révèlent une importante complexité des abeilles ibériques

Apis mellifera iberiensis /diversité génétique/ADNmitochondrial/test Dra I/Portugal

Muster in der maternalen Diversität in den ibero-atlantischen Populationen weisen auf weitere Komplexität der Iberischen Honigbienen hin

Apis mellifera iberiensis /genetische Diversität/mtDNA/DraI Test/Portugal

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Correspondence to Maria Alice Pinto.

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Manuscript editor: Marina Meixner

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Pinto, M.A., Henriques, D., Neto, M. et al. Maternal diversity patterns of Ibero-Atlantic populations reveal further complexity of Iberian honeybees. Apidologie 44, 430–439 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13592-013-0192-y

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