Identification of stingless bees (Hymenoptera: Apidae) in Kenya using Morphometrics and DNA barcoding

Ndungu, N. N., Kiatoko, N., Ciosi, M. , Salifu, D., Nyansera, D., Masiga, D. and Raina, S. K. (2017) Identification of stingless bees (Hymenoptera: Apidae) in Kenya using Morphometrics and DNA barcoding. Journal of Apicultural Research, 56(4), pp. 341-353. (doi: 10.1080/00218839.2017.1327939)

Abstract

Stingless bees are important pollinators of wild plants and crops. The identity of stingless bee species in Africa has not been fully documented. The present study explored the utility of morphometrics and DNA barcoding for identification of African stingless bee populations, and to further employ these tools to identify potential cryptic variation within species. Stingless bee samples were collected from three ecological zones, namely Kakamega Forest, Mwingi and Arabuko-Sokoke Forest, which are geographically distant and cover high, medium and low altitudes, respectively. Forewing and hind leg morphometric characters were measured to determine the extent of morphological variation between the populations. DNA barcodes were generated from the mitochondrial cytochrome c-oxidase I (COI) gene. Principal Component Analysis (PCA) on the morphometric measurements separated the bee samples into three clusters: (1) Meliponula bocandei; (2) Meliponula lendliana + Plebeina hildebrandti; (3) Dactylurina schmidti + Meliponula ferruginea black + Meliponula ferruginea reddish brown, but Canonical Variate Analysis (CVA) separated all the species except the two morphospecies (M. ferruginea reddish brown and black). The analysis of the COI sequences showed that DNA barcoding can be used to identify all the species studied and revealed remarkable genetic distance (7.3%) between the two M. ferruginea morphs. This is the first genetic evidence that M. ferruginea black and M. ferruginea reddish brown are separate species.

• Item Type: Articles
• Status: Published
• Refereed: Yes
• Glasgow Author(s) Enlighten ID: Masiga, Dr Daniel and Ciosi, Dr Marc
• Authors: Ndungu, N. N., Kiatoko, N., Ciosi, M., Salifu, D., Nyansera, D., Masiga, D., and Raina, S. K.
• College/School: College of Medical Veterinary and Life Sciences > School of Infection & Immunity; College of Medical Veterinary and Life Sciences > School of Molecular Biosciences
• Journal Name: Journal of Apicultural Research
• Publisher: Taylor & Francis
• ISSN: 2078-6913
• ISSN (Online): 2078-6913
• Published Online: 30 June 2017
• Copyright Holders: Copyright © 2017 Taylor and Francis
• First Published: First published in Journal of Apicultural Research 56(4):341-353
• Publisher Policy: Reproduced in accordance with the copyright policy of the publisher