Genetic Structure of Apis cerana Populations from South Korea, Vietnam and the Russian Far East Based on Microsatellite and Mitochondrial DNA Polymorphism.

In this article, we present the results of the genetic analysis of Apis cerana samples from the Russian Far East, South Korea and Vietnam. An analysis of the polymorphism of seven microsatellite loci and an assessment of the haplotype diversity of the mtDNA tRNAleu-COII locus were performed. A fragment of about 431 bp in tRNAleu-COII was sequenced. The analysis showed the presence of 14 haplotypes, while the predominant haplotype was Japan1. Microsatellite data revealed two differentiated clusters. The first cluster contained tropical climate A. cerana samples from Vietnam, and the second cluster combined temperate climate A. cerana samples from the Russian Far East and South Korea.