Molecular characterisation of indigenous Apis mellifera carnica in Slovenia

The genetic structure of Apis mellifera carnica bee from Slovenia, collected from 269 localities of ten Slovenian districts, was assessed by mitochondrial and nuclear DNA analyses. The level of genetic variability within and among districts was low. All of the samples were fixed for one newly found mtDNA haplotype of the C phylogenetic lineage, designated as C2C. A low level of variability was observed for all microsatellite loci, showing a very homogenous structure of the Carniolan bee population. Samples collected in the neighbouring district of Croatia expressed very similar results. On the other hand, high genetic differentiation was observed in comparison with A. m. macedonica population. Present study represents the first attempt to characterise indigenous honeybee populations in Slovenia using molecular methods. Furthermore, it indicates that the Carniolan bee from Slovenia still represents an indigenous gene pool within A. m. carnica.