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        <title>Frontiers in Bee Science | Bee Genetics section | New and Recent Articles</title>
        <link>https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/bee-science/sections/bee-genetics</link>
        <description>RSS Feed for Bee Genetics section in the Frontiers in Bee Science journal | New and Recent Articles</description>
        <language>en-us</language>
        <generator>Frontiers Feed Generator,version:1</generator>
        <pubDate>2026-05-12T14:39:33.23+00:00</pubDate>
        <ttl>60</ttl>
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        <guid isPermaLink="true">https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/frbee.2025.1395037</guid>
        <link>https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/frbee.2025.1395037</link>
        <title><![CDATA[Chromosome evolution in bees]]></title>
        <pubdate>2025-05-26T00:00:00Z</pubdate>
        <category>Review</category>
        <author>Robin E. Owen</author>
        <description><![CDATA[Of the about 1850 species of Hymenoptera for which chromosome counts are known, only just over 200 of these are bees (Apoidea). Haploid numbers (n) range from 3-28, which probably does represent the true range of chromosome numbers in this superfamily. The modal number is 17, with another peak at n=9, representing a clade of meliponid bees which has been well studied. Although much is known about the chromosomes of bees there is still much to learn about overall trends in haploid number and chromosome organization. We are still lacking this information for many important families of bees. The only andrenid bee karyotyped, Andrena togashii has the low n of 3, so we certainly need to know which other species in this family have low chromosome numbers to see if this is an exception and to further test the Minimum Interaction Theory (MIT) of Imai and colleagues which predicts the evolutionary increase in chromosome number. In general, an overall increase from low numbers (n=3-8) to the higher numbers found in the Apidae, Colletidae, Halictidae, and Megachilidae (modal numbers 17, 16, 16, 16, respectively) does appear to be followed. However, within groups this is not always the case; the Meliponid clade with n=9 being an example. The potential adaptive value of chromosome number per se is of great interest. I propose a hypothesis to account for the high (n=25) chromosome number found in the social parasitic bumble bee subgenus Psithyrus. More sophisticated techniques beyond chromosome counting and karyotyping using C-banding, will yield much more detailed information about chromosomal rearrangements as shown by the work on the neotropical meliponid bees by the Brazilian cytogeneticists, and when these are applied to other taxa of bees will undoubtedly reveal features of great interest. Genomic approaches are starting to identify chromosomal rearrangements such as inversions and this holds much potential to explore their adaptive significance.]]></description>
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        <guid isPermaLink="true">https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/frbee.2025.1498092</guid>
        <link>https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/frbee.2025.1498092</link>
        <title><![CDATA[Effect of honeybee queen size and HSP90 and HSC70 gene expression on thermal stress resistance]]></title>
        <pubdate>2025-03-13T00:00:00Z</pubdate>
        <category>Original Research</category>
        <author>Alireza Derafsh</author><author>Abdolreza Salehi</author><author>Esmaeil Amiri</author><author>Mohammad Reza Bakhtiarizadeh</author>
        <description><![CDATA[IntroductionIn beekeeping, queen cell size is a critical factor influencing the growth and development of queen bees. It was hypothesized that larger queen cells would produce queens with greater weight, enhanced resilience to heat stress, and higher expression of heat shock proteins (HSP90 and HSC70), leading to improved survival under environmental stress.Materials and methodsThis study, conducted in Shiraz Province, Iran, in 2023, aimed to test this hypothesis. A total of 270 queens were divided into three groups based on queen cell size: large (10–9.5 mm), medium (9–8.5 mm), and small (7.5–7 mm). The queens were reared using three different methods: 1) simultaneous starter_finisher colonies, 2) separate starter_finisher colonies, and 3) rearing in the presence of the queen. Since there were three different cell types, this resulted in a total of 90 cells for each rearing method. Each group of 90 cells consisted of three subsets of 30 cells: large, small, and medium. From 270 cells, 176 survived and 94 queens died.Results and discussionWe conducted a stepwise procedure using a logistic model, and the results indicated that the model, which included cell type, rearing method, and birth weight, showed the best predictive performance. This was evidenced by the lowest Akaike information criterion value. Then, from rearing method 2, we placed 12 queens of each cell type in two groups of six each subjected to two different stress levels: a low temperature of 4°C and a high temperature above 40°C. A total of 36 frozen queen samples with six replicates for each treatment combination were used for molecular testing. Gene expression analysis was conducted using real-time PCR to evaluate HSP90 and HSC70 gene expression. Results showed that queens produced in larger cells had significantly higher weight, enhanced resilience to heat stress, and higher gene expression of HSP90. These queens demonstrated superior survival rates under high-temperature conditions compared to queens from smaller cells.ConclusionsThe findings support the hypothesis that optimizing queen cell size can enhance queen performance and colony resilience. Our results suggest that larger cells promote improved development, heat stress resilience, and higher survival rates, ultimately improving colony health and productivity.]]></description>
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        <guid isPermaLink="true">https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/frbee.2025.1507903</guid>
        <link>https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/frbee.2025.1507903</link>
        <title><![CDATA[Population delimitation in bumble bees - strategies and research gaps]]></title>
        <pubdate>2025-03-07T00:00:00Z</pubdate>
        <category>Review</category>
        <author>Lilian Gornall</author><author>Jens Dauber</author><author>Wiebke Sickel</author>
        <description><![CDATA[Declining social insects such as bumble bees are particularly vulnerable to loss of genetic diversity. Population delimitation is a precondition for measuring genetic diversity but usually requires extensive genetic data and comprehensive knowledge about gene flow barriers. As a first step towards a delimitation strategy that does not rely on genetic data, we compiled existing knowledge about Bombus population structures and (potential) gene flow barriers. We reviewed studies examining genetic structuring in Bombus species and assessed the impact of different ecological and environmental factors on their gene flow. Generally, we found that declining species and clearly isolated populations exhibit genetic structuring for which some underlying factors can be correlated with isolation-by-landscape approaches. For widespread species, isolation-by-environment approaches can help elucidate subtle factors impeding gene flow between populations, even though such species are capable of maintaining gene flow across large stepping stone populations. However, to better inform isolation-by landscape/environment models that could contribute to a landscape-based population delimitation strategy, more research into habitat requirements and dispersal ranges has to be conducted.]]></description>
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        <guid isPermaLink="true">https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/frbee.2024.1401851</guid>
        <link>https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/frbee.2024.1401851</link>
        <title><![CDATA[Phylogeography of the giant honey bees based on mitochondrial gene sequences]]></title>
        <pubdate>2024-06-28T00:00:00Z</pubdate>
        <category>Original Research</category>
        <author>Chet P. Bhatta</author><author>Sarah C. Zajonz</author><author>Deborah R. Smith</author>
        <description><![CDATA[Our goal was to resolve phylogenetic relationships among Apis laboriosa, and the Apis dorsata subspecies A. d. dorsata, A. d. binghami, and A. d. breviligula, the last two of which have been proposed as full species by several authors. We carried out a phylogenetic analysis of the giant honey bees using mitochondrial cox1 and cox2 gene sequences analyzed with maximum likelihood methods. We obtained strong support for four clades within A. dorsata in the broad sense: the three subspecies or species mentioned above, and a fourth lineage from south India.  However, our analysis did not resolve the phylogenetic relationships among the four lineages. The presence of two genetically distinguishable groups of “A. dorsata” in India parallels the presence there of two cavity-nesting honey bees, A. cerana cerana and A. c. indica (the black hill bees and yellow plains bees, respectively). This suggests that past climatic or geological events may have temporarily isolated Indian populations from populations of the Asian mainland, leading to divergence and possibly speciation of Indian giant and cavity-nesting bees, followed by recolonization of India by eastern Asian forms. Recognition of these distinct lineages is important for conservation planning, so that their individual distributions, ecologies, and migration patterns can be considered, and so that the genetic diversity they represent can be maintained.]]></description>
      </item><item>
        <guid isPermaLink="true">https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/frbee.2023.1144894</guid>
        <link>https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/frbee.2023.1144894</link>
        <title><![CDATA[Genomic analyses of Asian honeybee from the Sansha Island in the South China Sea, suggest it’s evolutional origin and environmental adaption]]></title>
        <pubdate>2023-10-23T00:00:00Z</pubdate>
        <category>Original Research</category>
        <author>Jinglin Gao</author><author>Xiangyou Tang</author><author>Shan Zhao</author><author>Kunlin Tao</author><author>Xinyan Shi</author><author>Huali Song</author><author>Yuxin Yao</author><author>Yan Jiang</author><author>Tianbin Wang</author><author>Xiang Li</author><author>Dongxiang Zhao</author><author>Jinshan Xu</author>
        <description><![CDATA[Discovering new resources and enhancing our knowledge of distribution are crucial for the preservation and utilization of honeybee genetic resources. Our research focused on morphological and population genetic analysis, which revealed significant differences in the SanshaId group compared to others. Notably, the SanshaId group displayed smaller tongue length, averaging at 3.83 mm, and a larger fixation index, indicating a distinct level of subspecies differentiation (Fst = 0.2669). We therefore assumed that A.cerana sanshasis is a new ecotype and subspecies of A. cerana. Estimates of population history indicated that SanshaId population is most closely related to HainanId population, which differed from SanshaId population by about 0.57 Ma due to geological movements. We identified 131 high-frequency non-synonymous mutant genes in the SanshaId group compared to HainanId group. Among these genes, Cuticular genes related to tongue morphology were subject to evolutionary selection, and some genes related to glucose metabolism were highly expressed in the gut. Our results expand the understanding of the distribution range of Asian honeybee and provide a basis for understanding the population dynamics and evolutionary adaptation of A. cerana sanshasis in tropical island environments.]]></description>
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