Admixture in Africanized honey bees (Apis mellifera) from Panamá to San
Diego, California (U.S.A.)
Abstract
The Africanized honey bee (AHB) is a New World amalgamation of several
subspecies of the western honey bee (Apis mellifera), a diverse taxon
grouped into four major biogeographic lineages: A (African), M (western
European), C (eastern European), and O (Middle Eastern). In 1956,
accidental release of experimentally bred “Africanized” hybrids from a
research apiary in Sao Paulo, Brazil initiated a hybrid species
expansion that now extends from northern Argentina to northern
California (U.S.A.). Here, we assess nuclear admixture and mitochondrial
ancestry in 15 bees from each of four regions across this expansive
range: the Isthmus of Panamá; Guanacaste, Costa Rica, Tapachula, Mexico;
and San Diego, U.S.A to assess ancestry of AHB several decades following
initial introduction and test the prediction that African ancestry
decreases with increasing latitude. We find that AHB nuclear genomes
from Central America and Mexico have majority African ancestry (Mexico,
79%; Costa Rica 90%; and Panamá 94%) with varying contributions from
western and eastern European lineages. AHB from San Diego (CA) show
markedly lower African ancestry (40%) with substantial genomic
contributions from all four major honey bee lineages. The mitochondria
of all bees sampled in Costa Rica and Panamá originated in Africa. The
majority (11) of bees sampled in Mexico carried African mitochondria
with the remainder carrying eastern European mitochondria. In the San
Diego population, mitochondria from all four lineages are present.
Genetic diversity measures from all New World populations are similar
and exceed those of ancestral forms. The unique genetic makeup of the
San Diego honey bee population makes it a rich source of genetic
material for honey bee breeding.