Genetic Characterization of Honey bees (Hymenoptera: Apidea) Populations from North West of Iran Using RAPD Markers

The aim of the present study was to assess the genetic variation and establish the relationship amongst the five Iranian honey bee populations from North West of Iran viz. Tabriz, Khoy, Orumieh, Ardabil and Karaj. DNA samples were genotyped using eight RAPD markers. The primers yielded 50 polymorphic bands and numbers of bands were variable from 6-11 (average 8.62) and percentage of polymorphic loci was 72.6. The estimated genetic diversity for the populations ranged from 0.298 in Karaj population to 0.37 in Ardabil population and total gene diversity among loci was calculated as 0.376 while average within population genetic diversity was 0.34 and GST value was 0.094. Dendogram showed three main clusters; the first one comprised of two populations (Tabriz and Khoy), the second one also included two populations (Orumieh and Ardabil) and the third one has only one population (Karaj). It can be concluded that the RAPD markers in this study could properly grouped the study populations based on their geographical distribution.