Application of ISSR to study the genetic diversity of honeybee (Apis mellifera L.) populations in some areas of Iran

Abstract

Inter-Simple Sequence Repeat (ISSR) molecular marker for the isolation of five races of honey bee Apis mellifera from Khuzestan, Kurdistan, Markazi, Fars and Isfahan provinces was studied. DNA was extracted from the worker bees. The quality and quantity of extracted DNA were measured. Values obtained from the bands on agarose gel (1.5%) were scored and analyzed. Results showed that the bands are in the range between 250 and 1000 bp. Maximum number of bands were recorded for primer 1. Cluster analysis of races placed them in two main groups. In the first group were Kurdistan and Khuzestan. The second group includes Markazi, Fars and Isfahan, but this group has shown no relationship between the populations. It seems that ISSR molecular marker could separate different races of honey bee.

Keywords

• molecular marker
• honey bee
• DNA
• genetic diversity