The Iberian honey bee (Apis mellifera iberiensis): complex neutral and selective patterns revealed by maternal and biparental markers
Maria Alice Pinto
Mountain Research Centre (CIMO), Polytechnic Institute of Bragança
The Iberian Peninsula has been recognized as a hot spot of diversity and endemisms for numerous plant and animal species, and the honey bee is no exception. Honey bees occur naturally in Europe, Africa, western Asia, and the Middle East. In this vast range of habitats, adaptation to diverse ecological conditions has led to evolution of over 31 subspecies, which have been grouped into four main evolutionary lineages. The Iberian Peninsula harbours two of such lineages (African, A, and western European, M) and the greatest genetic diversity and complexity across Europe. Unravelling the evolutionary forces underlying such complex patterns of diversity has been a major goal of numerous studies and an increasingly important undertaking given the escalating threats to the honey bee populations (e.g. exotic diseases and parasites, pesticides, land use change and climate change). Here, I will present our main findings on the Iberian honey diversity patterns obtained from mtDNA, wings geometric morphometrics, nuclear SNPs and whole-genome data. Notwithstanding current intense honey bee management, a complex pattern of clinal variation that has been shaped by neutral and selective forces was revealed by the wide array of markers and approaches. Our data highlights the complexity of the Iberian honey bee patterns and reinforces the importance of Iberia as a reservoir of Apis mellifera diversity.
Wednesday, February 1st, 2017
FCUL, Room 2.2.14 (Building C2), 11h00
About Maria Alice Pinto:
Maria Alice Pinto is a Professor at the Polytechnic Institute of Bragança and an Investigator at the Mountain Research Centre (CIMO), Bragança, Portugal. Her research has mainly focused on unravelling the complex patterns and processes shaping Iberian honey bee diversity and on developing molecular tools for estimating introgression in honey bee populations across Europe. Author on over 45 papers in peer-reviewed journals, technical journals, and conference proceedings, 6 book chapters, 200 presentations in scientific conferences, and editor of 2 books. She has coordinated and collaborated on over 15 national and international research projects. She earned a PhD degree in Entomology from Texas A&M University, USA, a MSc degree in Integrated Pest Management from the Technical University of Lisbon, and a BSc degree in Forest Sciences from the University of Trás-os-Montes e Alto Douro, Portugal.
