Population structure of Apis cerana in Thailand

Apis cerana is a native and widely-distributed, apicultural honey bee in Asia. Biogeographic studies have revealed substantial morphological variation and mtDNA population structure. A. cerana also shows local resistance patterns to the commercially important parasitic Varroa mite. mtDNA studies suggest three distinct A. cerana lineages, in contrast to Varroa parasite patterns that indicate four distinct populations. To resolve this contradiction and assess nuclear differentiation, we investigated a subset of the original samples with microsatellite markers. After screening about 80 A. mellifera primer combinations, we selected the 10 most consistent and polymorphic ones to be genotyped in all 45 bees. These data will be used to assess population structure and the results will be discussed in the context of A. cerana biogeography and mite restistance.