The Carniolan Honeybee from Slovenia—A Complete and Annotated Mitochondrial Genome with Comparisons to Closely Related <em>Apis mellifera</em> Subspecies
Ajda Moškrič,
Andraž Marinč,
Polonca Ferk,
Brane Leskošek,
Mai-Britt Mosbech,
Ignas Bunikis,
Olga Vinnere Pettersson,
Lucile Soler,
Janez Prešern
Affiliations
Ajda Moškrič
Animal Production Department, Agricultural Institute of Slovenia, Hacquetova ulica 17, SI-1000 Ljubljana, Slovenia
Andraž Marinč
Animal Production Department, Agricultural Institute of Slovenia, Hacquetova ulica 17, SI-1000 Ljubljana, Slovenia
Polonca Ferk
Faculty of Medicine, Institute for Biostatistics and Medical Informatics/Centre ELIXIR-SI, University of Ljubljana, Vrazov trg 2, SI-1000 Ljubljana, Slovenia
Brane Leskošek
Faculty of Medicine, Institute for Biostatistics and Medical Informatics/Centre ELIXIR-SI, University of Ljubljana, Vrazov trg 2, SI-1000 Ljubljana, Slovenia
Mai-Britt Mosbech
Uppsala Genome Center, Science for Life Laboratory, Department of Immunology, Genetics and Pathology, Uppsala University, BMC, Box 815, 752 37 Uppsala, Sweden
Ignas Bunikis
Uppsala Genome Center, Science for Life Laboratory, Department of Immunology, Genetics and Pathology, Uppsala University, BMC, Box 815, 752 37 Uppsala, Sweden
Olga Vinnere Pettersson
Uppsala Genome Center, Science for Life Laboratory, Department of Immunology, Genetics and Pathology, Uppsala University, BMC, Box 815, 752 37 Uppsala, Sweden
Lucile Soler
Department of Medical Biochemistry and Microbiology (IMBIM), Uppsala University, National Bioinformatics Infrastructure Sweden (NBIS), Science for Life Laboratory, 751 24 Uppsala, Sweden
Janez Prešern
Animal Production Department, Agricultural Institute of Slovenia, Hacquetova ulica 17, SI-1000 Ljubljana, Slovenia
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.
