Hi all
I have been following closely the honey bee genomics story. The literature is littered with conjecture but lacking anything definitive. The best we have in the US is the recent work by Julie M. Cridland, et al.
> In addition to the broad-scale changes in the genetic composition of modern honey bee populations of California we identified a substantial number of genes that are differentiated between populations. Some genes, like vitellogenin, show differentiation between multiple population comparisons. These genes constitute a candidate sets for both local adaptation to the various environmental conditions along California, and future studies may investigate their potential role in resistance to Varroa or other diseases faced by honey bee populations. We also find some interesting candidates in the comparison of the 1966 and modern Humboldt population, though these populations are composed of only a few individuals each and the differentiation observed may be due to sampling.
If you read closely, you will see "These genes constitute a candidate sets," and "differentiation observed may be due to sampling." In other words, there are distinctions that _may_ mean something or not. One factor to remember is "genetic drift" whereby populations become genetically distinct but these distinctions do not reflect significant adaptations. E.g., the many different "races" of humans, which boil down to differences mainly in physical appearance and have little real biological significance. And please let's not veer off to a discussion of race, that's not my intention. There are distinctly adapted populations of humans, but these are rare:
> High-altitude adaptation in humans is an instance of evolutionary modification in certain human populations, including those of Tibet in Asia, the Andes of the Americas, and Ethiopia in Africa, who have acquired the ability to survive at extremely high altitudes.
Peter L Borst
ΒΆ
Cridland, J. M., Ramirez, S. R., Dean, C. A., Sciligo, A., & Tsutsui, N. D. (2018). Genome sequencing of museum specimens reveals rapid changes in the genetic composition of honey bees in California. Genome biology and evolution, 10(2), 458-472.
***********************************************
The BEE-L mailing list is powered by L-Soft's renowned
LISTSERV(R) list management software. For more information, go to:
http://www.lsoft.com/LISTSERV-powered.html
|
