Honey bees come from Asia, not in Africa, according to a … – Reuters

Madrid, Aug 25 (EFE) .- An international group of scientists has sequenced the genome of 140 bees from 14 different populations and has seen a “surprisingly high” in their genetic diversity, and that the “Apis mellifera” (honey bee) is probably not native to Asia and Africa.

Here are some of the findings of a study to be published in the journal Nature Genetics, led by Professor Matthew Webster University of Uppsala (Sweden), and has also had the participation of researchers from Norway, Japan, Jordan, Brazil, South Africa, Turkey and Spain.

According to this research, the bees seem descended from an ancient lineage who arrived from Asia about 300,000 years ago and spread rapidly throughout Europe and Africa.

This result contrasts with previous research suggesting that originated in Africa.

“The evolutionary tree that we constructed from the genome sequence does not support an origin in Africa,” said Matthew Webster in a press release from the American Association for the Advancement of Science.

The bee, the authors recall, is of crucial importance for humanity: a third of the food (fruits, nuts and vegetables) consumed mainly dependent on pollination by bees but also by other insects

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However, they add, lost colonies of these insects in recent years has become a concern.

Bees face new threats such as disease or climate change.

To combat these threats, it is important to understand the historical evolution of these animals and how they have adapted to different environments around the world, say the authors.

Webster specifies that, unlike other species of domestic animals, bees have higher levels of genetic variation, probably because mating takes place naturally.

According to the researcher at the University of Uppsala, the results of genomic analyzes show further that no inbreeding so this process will not be involved in the loss of colonies were observed.

Other conclusions of this work is that climate change has severely affected bee populations.

So, according to this study, populations in Europe seem to have been contracted during glaciations, while African seem to have expanded in those periods.

Spanish side has participated Pillar Rua Tarin, a professor at the University of Murcia, who also provided samples of the Iberian bee “Apis mellifera iberiensis.”

“We found evidence that the population size has fluctuated much in the past, reflecting historical climate fluctuations, and that contemporary populations have high genetic diversity, “said De la Rua Efe Tarín.

For this science, the study provides an” adequate basis “for future research on the influence of pathogens and climate change on populations of honey bee.