Genetic Characterisation of Honey Bees (Apis mellifera) Populations from Kurdistan Region of Iraq via ISSR Markers

In the present study, to investigate genetic diversity and phylogenetic relationships among honey bee populations of Iraq ISSR markers were used. Sampling was carried out during summer 2017 from 5 cities of Iraq (Dahuk, Arbil, Sulaymaniyah, Kirkuk, and Kafri). Total DNA was extracted from the head and thorax sections of each worker honey bee, using salting out method with minor modifications. PCR amplification of genomic DNA was performed using 10 ISSR marker primers (A1, A2, A3, A4, A5, A6, A7, A8, A9 and A10). The primers yielded 50 polymorphic bands and number of bands were variable from 8-12 (average 9.62), and percentage of polymorphic loci was 73.6. The estimated genetic diversity for the populations ranged from 0.39 in Kafri population to 0.47 in Arbil population, and total genetic diversity among loci was calculated as 0.47 while average within population genetic diversity was 0.44. GST value was 0.085. The Phylogenetic tree showed two main clusters; the first one comprised of three populations (Dahuk, Arbil, and Sulaymaniyah), and the second one included two communities (Kirkuk and Kafri). Heterozygosity values, Shannon index and the number of alleles of honey bee populations were minimal that could be caused by low definite geographic structure of honey bee populations. This research provided new information regarding genetic diversity in selected local honeybee in Kurdistan region of Iraq and will be useful for selection, future local biodiversity conservation and controlled breeding programs.