Biodiversity of the honeybee Apis mellifera, linne (1758), from some Yugoslav regions. II - Ultrastructural chromosomal differences between banat and the syenichko - Peshterski honeybee ecotypes

Abstract

Starting from the previously formulated hypothesis that amplifications and rearrangements of chromosome regions might be the cause of the biometric chromosomal differences in the analysed samples of honeybees from the Peshter plateau and Belgrade region, comparative ultrastructural chromosome analyses (the distribution of euchromatin and heterochromatin) of these indigenous honeybee ecotypes (the Banat - BET ecotype and Syenichko-Peshterski - SET ecotype) were undertaken. The ultrastructural chromosome analyses showed marked differences in the G - band distribution on chromosomes 1, 2, 4, 11, 12, 13, 15 and 16 of the SET honeybee ecotype compared to the BET ecotype, thus confirming our previously advanced hypothesis. The chromosomes of the first pair of the SET honeybee ecotype had one heterochromatic (D 2 ) and one euchromatic (D 3 ) block more on the p - arm compared to the chromosomes of the same autosomal pair of the Banat honeybee. The chromosomes of the second pair of the SET ecotype had one lighter euchromatic band (B 1a ) more on the same arm (p - arm). Moreover on chromosomes 4 [two surplus bands: one heterochromatic (C 2 ) and one euchromatic (C 3 ) bands], 11 [three surplus bands: two heterochromatic (A 1a , A 1c ) and one euchromatic bands (A 1b )], 12 [one surplus heterochromatic band (A 1 )], 13 [three surplus bands: one heterochromatic (A 2 ) and two euchromatic bands (A 1 , A 3 )], 15 [one surplus heterochromatic band (A 1 )], and 16 [one surplus heterochromatic band (A 1a )] of the SET ecotype, amplifications of euchromatic/ heterochromatic blocks appeared on the q - arm.