GENETIC DIVERSITY OF THE HONEY BEES (APIS MELLIFERA) COLLECTED FROM DIFFERENT GEOGRAPHICAL REGIONS IN IRAQ

Apis mellifera offers great pollination services for a diversity of plant crops. In this study, 17 samples of A. mellifera were collected from different geographical regions [Babylon (1), Anbar (2), Najaf (3), Nineveh (4), Wasit (5), Kirkuk (6), Basrah (7), Dohuk (8), Diwaniyah (9), Muthanna (10), Salahaddin (11), Dhi Qar (12), Sulaymaniyah (13), Diyala (14), Erbil (15), Baghdad (16), and Maysan (17)] in Iraq. These isolates were molecularly identified using the mitochondrial gene cytochrome oxidase I (mtDNA-COI) using PCR and sequences. Nucleotide sequence analysis revealed that the obtained sequences of the A. mellifera isolate 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 13, 14, 15, 16, and 17 had 100% similarity among them as well as with the other isolates available at NCBI, such as those isolated and identified in the USA (MT188686, and MN714160), Thailand (MK450110, MK450064, MK450037, and MK450091), and France (MT869611). Results also showed that the nucleotide sequences of isolates 9, 10, 11, and 12 had 100% similarity when compared with each other and with the A. mellifera isolate identified in Saudi Arabia (MW428273). However, results demonstrated that isolates 6, 7, and 8 had 100% identity among them and 99% shared with the other isolates available at NCBI; therefore, one of these isolates has been submitted and registered at NCBI under the accession number MZ014619.