Thrice Out of Africa: Ancient and Recent Expansions of the Honey Bee, Apis mellifera

• Published in: Science (American Association for the Advancement of Science) Vol. 314; no. 5799; pp. 642 - 645
• Main Authors: Whitfield, Charles W, Behura, Susanta K, Berlocher, Stewart H, Clark, Andrew G, Johnston, J. Spencer, Sheppard, Walter S, Smith, Deborah R, Suarez, Andrew V, Weaver, Daniel, Tsutsui, Neil D
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Washington, DC American Association for the Advancement of Science 27.10.2006; The American Association for the Advancement of Science
• Subjects: Africa; Alleles; Animal Migration; Animal populations; Animals; Apiculture; Apis mellifera; Apis mellifera scutellata; Asia; Bees; Bees - classification; Bees - genetics; Biogeography; Biological and medical sciences; Biological Evolution; Dispersal; Europe; Female; Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology; Genetic diversity; Genetic loci; Genetics of eukaryotes. Biological and molecular evolution; Genetics, Population; Genotype; Genotype & phenotype; Genotypes; Honey bees; Hybridization, Genetic; Insect genetics; Insect morphology; Insect pollination; Invertebrata; Linkage Disequilibrium; Male; North America; Phylogeny; Polymorphism; Polymorphism, Single Nucleotide; Population Dynamics; Population genetics, reproduction patterns; Principal components analysis; Selection, Genetic; Social insects; Software; South America; Time; World; South America; Asia; North America; Europe; Africa; Genetic variability; Insecta; Apidae; Genotype; Geographical origin; Social insect; Apis mellifera; Geographic distribution; Apoidea; Arthropoda; Hymenoptera; Invertebrata; Geographical variation; Aculeata
• ISSN: 0036-8075; 1095-9203
• DOI: 10.1126/science.1132772

We characterized Apis mellifera in both native and introduced ranges using 1136 single-nucleotide polymorphisms genotyped in 341 individuals. Our results indicate that A. mellifera originated in Africa and expanded into Eurasia at least twice, resulting in populations in eastern and western Europe that are geographically close but genetically distant. A third expansion in the New World has involved the near-replacement of previously introduced "European" honey bees by descendants of more recently introduced A. m. scutellata ("African" or "killer" bees). Our analyses of spatial transects and temporal series in the New World revealed differential replacement of alleles derived from eastern versus western Europe, with admixture evident in all individuals.