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doi:10.1534/genetics.104.035030
A more recent version of this article appeared on August 1, 2005.
REGULAR RESEARCH PAPERS |
Africanization in the United States: Replacement of Feral European Honey Bees (Apis mellifera L.) by an African Hybrid Swarm
Maria Alice Pinto 1*, William L. Rubink 2, John C. Patton 3, Robert N. Coulson 3 and John Spencer Johnston 3
1 Escola Superior Agraria de Braganca
2 Rubinks
3 Texas A&M University
* To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail: apinto{at}ipb.pt.
Submitted on August 16, 2004
Revised on November 2, 2004
Accepted on 23 March 2005
The expansion of Africanized honey bees from South America to the southwestern United States in less than 50 years is considered one of the most spectacular biological invasions yet documented. In the American tropics, it has been shown that during their expansion Africanized honey bees have low levels of introgressed alleles from resident European populations. In the United States, it has been speculated, but not shown, that Africanized honey bees would hybridize extensively with European honey bees. Herein we report a continuous 11-year study investigating temporal changes in the genetic structure of a feral population from the southern United States undergoing Africanization. Our microsatellite data showed that (1) the process of Africanization involved both maternal and paternal bi-directional gene flow between European and Africanized honey bees; and (2) the panmitic European population was replaced by panmitic mixtures of A. m. scutellata and European genes within five years after Africanization. The post-Africanization gene pool (1998-2001) was composed of a diverse array of recombinant classes with a substantial European genetic contribution (mean = 25-37 %). Therefore, the resulting feral honey bee population of south Texas was best viewed as a hybrid swarm.
Key Words: Africanized honey bee, assignment test, gene flow, hybridization, microsatellites
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