Honeybee biodiversity based on five mitochondrial genes and new evidence for differentsublineages in Türkiye

In this study, the genetic structure of honey bee populations in Türkiye was analyzed using eleven restriction endonuclease enzymes targeting the COI-COII, COI, 16S rDNA, ND5, and CYT B genes. A total of 553 worker honey bee samples were collected from 43 different districts across Türkiye, as well as from Greece, Bulgaria, and Georgia, neighboring countries of Türkiye. Analysis of the COI region using the HinfI restriction enzyme revealed the presence of two mitotypes. Type 1 was the predominant type in Türkiye, while Type 2 was detected exclusively in Hatay, a province in the southern part of the country. Notably, the absence of the HincII site in the COI region and the EcoRI site in the 16S rDNA gene in the Hatay samples suggests that these samples belong to the A lineage. However, several samples from Hatay were classified as belonging to mitochondrial lineage O due to the presence of BglII and HinfI restriction sites in the CYT B gene. With the exception of Hatay, which displayed an EcoRI site in the 16S rDNA fragment and lacked an HinfI site in the CYT B fragment, all samples were identified as belonging to the C lineage. Furthermore, the COI-COII restriction patterns with DraI for lineages C and Z were consistent with the findings. The restriction analysis revealed that several samples from Hatay exhibited the most divergent mitotype in comparison with other honey bee populations studied, resembling African or Arabian honey bees. The results of this study indicate that Anatolia serves as a genetic center for Middle Eastern honey bees, with Hatay acting as a transitional zone. However, the findings also suggest that the introduction of foreign commercial queen bees into Türkiye has led to some degree of hybridization between native and non-native honey bee subspecies.