Occurrence of B chromosomes in Tetragonisca Latreille, 1811 (Hymenoptera, Apidae, Meliponini): a new contribution to the cytotaxonomy of the genus

Abstract

Tetragonisca angustula and Tetragonisca fiebrigi have recently been listed as valid species. This study aimed to cytogenetically investigate both species, emphasizing the new registry of B chromosomes in the tribe Meliponini. We analyzed colonies of T. angustula and T. fiebrigi collected at Tangará da Serra, Mato Grosso, Brazil, through conventional Giemsa staining, C-banding, and base-specific fluorochrome staining (CMA3/DAPI). T. angustula showed 2n = 34 chromosomes in females and n = 17 in males, with karyotype formula 2K = 34A M. T. fiebrigi showed numeric variation, with chromosome number varying from 2n = 34 to 2n = 36 in females and from n = 17 to n=18in males, with karyotype formula 2K = 32A M+2A Mc and 2K = 32A M+2A Mc + 1 or 2 B-chromosomes. The B chromosomes are heterochromatic. In T. fiebrigi, the CMA3/DAPI staining revealed four chromosomes with a CMA3 positive band. All individuals from the same colony showed the same number of B chromosomes. T. angustula and T. fiebrigi showed karyotype divergence, principally due to the presence of B chromosomes, which are found only in T. fiebrigi. Our data corroborate the status of valid species for both T. angustula and T. fiebrigi, as recently proposed.

Keywords

• stingless bees
• cytogenetics
• interspecific differentiation
• B chromosomes