Creation of a Biobank of the Sperm of the Honey Bee Drones of Different Subspecies of <i>Apis mellifera</i> L.
The cryopreservation of gametes and embryos is an important element of biodiversity conservation. One species in need of conservation is the honey bee <i>Apis mellifera</i> L. Changing environmental factors, especially the anthropogenic factor, have led to a reduction in the numbers of t...
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MDPI AG
2023-11-01
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| Series: | Animals |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2076-2615/13/23/3684 |
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| author | Alexey N. Gulov Andrey S. Berezin Elena O. Larkina Elena S. Saltykova Milyausha D. Kaskinova |
| author_facet | Alexey N. Gulov Andrey S. Berezin Elena O. Larkina Elena S. Saltykova Milyausha D. Kaskinova |
| author_sort | Alexey N. Gulov |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | The cryopreservation of gametes and embryos is an important element of biodiversity conservation. One species in need of conservation is the honey bee <i>Apis mellifera</i> L. Changing environmental factors, especially the anthropogenic factor, have led to a reduction in the numbers of this insect species. In this study, we provide an example of the creation of a biobank of honey bee drone sperm. For sperm cryopreservation, drones of the most common subspecies of honey bees common in Russia were selected. These were the dark forest bee, <i>Apis mellifera mellifera</i>, from the Republic of Bashkortostan, with three subspecies (<i>A. m. carnica</i>, <i>A. m. carpatica</i>, and <i>A. m. caucasica</i>) from the southern regions of Russia, as well as two breeding stocks, the Far Eastern bee and Prioksky bee. For subspecies identification, morphometric and genetic methods were used. The subspecies of the studied samples were confirmed via the analysis of the <i>tRNAleu-COII</i> locus of mitochondrial DNA and nine microsatellite markers of nuclear DNA. It was shown that bees of the Prioksky breeding stock belong to the subspecies <i>A. m. caucasica</i> based on phylogenetic analysis, and the Far Eastern breeding stock is a stable hybrid, descending on the maternal line from the evolutionary lineage C or O. The results of the morphometric analysis are consistent with the results of the genetic analysis. For the cryopreservation of sperm, we used a cryoprotectant solution with honey. As a result, the viability of frozen–thawed sperm decreased by 20.3% compared to fresh sperm, and overall motility decreased 25-fold. The measurement of the sperm concentration in the spermatheca of artificially inseminated queens showed that it varied from 0.22 to 4.4 million/μL. Therefore, the use of honey in sperm cryopreservation has great potential. |
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| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2076-2615 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-09T01:56:16Z |
| publishDate | 2023-11-01 |
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| series | Animals |
| spelling | doaj.art-eb3ca49605424da3b50341b3fd843d4f2023-12-08T15:10:41ZengMDPI AGAnimals2076-26152023-11-011323368410.3390/ani13233684Creation of a Biobank of the Sperm of the Honey Bee Drones of Different Subspecies of <i>Apis mellifera</i> L.Alexey N. Gulov0Andrey S. Berezin1Elena O. Larkina2Elena S. Saltykova3Milyausha D. Kaskinova4Federal State Budgetary Scientific Institution «Federal Beekeeping Research Centre», Pochtovaya Street, 22, Ryazan Region, 391110 Rybnoe, RussiaFederal State Budgetary Scientific Institution «Federal Beekeeping Research Centre», Pochtovaya Street, 22, Ryazan Region, 391110 Rybnoe, RussiaFederal State Budgetary Scientific Institution «Federal Beekeeping Research Centre», Pochtovaya Street, 22, Ryazan Region, 391110 Rybnoe, RussiaInstitute of Biochemistry and Genetics—Subdivision of the Ufa Federal Research Centre of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Prospekt Oktyabrya 71, 450054 Ufa, RussiaInstitute of Biochemistry and Genetics—Subdivision of the Ufa Federal Research Centre of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Prospekt Oktyabrya 71, 450054 Ufa, RussiaThe cryopreservation of gametes and embryos is an important element of biodiversity conservation. One species in need of conservation is the honey bee <i>Apis mellifera</i> L. Changing environmental factors, especially the anthropogenic factor, have led to a reduction in the numbers of this insect species. In this study, we provide an example of the creation of a biobank of honey bee drone sperm. For sperm cryopreservation, drones of the most common subspecies of honey bees common in Russia were selected. These were the dark forest bee, <i>Apis mellifera mellifera</i>, from the Republic of Bashkortostan, with three subspecies (<i>A. m. carnica</i>, <i>A. m. carpatica</i>, and <i>A. m. caucasica</i>) from the southern regions of Russia, as well as two breeding stocks, the Far Eastern bee and Prioksky bee. For subspecies identification, morphometric and genetic methods were used. The subspecies of the studied samples were confirmed via the analysis of the <i>tRNAleu-COII</i> locus of mitochondrial DNA and nine microsatellite markers of nuclear DNA. It was shown that bees of the Prioksky breeding stock belong to the subspecies <i>A. m. caucasica</i> based on phylogenetic analysis, and the Far Eastern breeding stock is a stable hybrid, descending on the maternal line from the evolutionary lineage C or O. The results of the morphometric analysis are consistent with the results of the genetic analysis. For the cryopreservation of sperm, we used a cryoprotectant solution with honey. As a result, the viability of frozen–thawed sperm decreased by 20.3% compared to fresh sperm, and overall motility decreased 25-fold. The measurement of the sperm concentration in the spermatheca of artificially inseminated queens showed that it varied from 0.22 to 4.4 million/μL. Therefore, the use of honey in sperm cryopreservation has great potential.https://www.mdpi.com/2076-2615/13/23/3684<i>Apis mellifera</i>honey bee subspeciescryopreservationbreeding stockhoney bee selection<i>tRNAleu-COII (COI-COII)</i> |
| spellingShingle | Alexey N. Gulov Andrey S. Berezin Elena O. Larkina Elena S. Saltykova Milyausha D. Kaskinova Creation of a Biobank of the Sperm of the Honey Bee Drones of Different Subspecies of <i>Apis mellifera</i> L. Animals <i>Apis mellifera</i> honey bee subspecies cryopreservation breeding stock honey bee selection <i>tRNAleu-COII (COI-COII)</i> |
| title | Creation of a Biobank of the Sperm of the Honey Bee Drones of Different Subspecies of <i>Apis mellifera</i> L. |
| title_full | Creation of a Biobank of the Sperm of the Honey Bee Drones of Different Subspecies of <i>Apis mellifera</i> L. |
| title_fullStr | Creation of a Biobank of the Sperm of the Honey Bee Drones of Different Subspecies of <i>Apis mellifera</i> L. |
| title_full_unstemmed | Creation of a Biobank of the Sperm of the Honey Bee Drones of Different Subspecies of <i>Apis mellifera</i> L. |
| title_short | Creation of a Biobank of the Sperm of the Honey Bee Drones of Different Subspecies of <i>Apis mellifera</i> L. |
| title_sort | creation of a biobank of the sperm of the honey bee drones of different subspecies of i apis mellifera i l |
| topic | <i>Apis mellifera</i> honey bee subspecies cryopreservation breeding stock honey bee selection <i>tRNAleu-COII (COI-COII)</i> |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2076-2615/13/23/3684 |
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