MITOCHONDRIAL DNA GENETIC VARIETY OF HONEYBEE (APIS MELLIFERA) IN IRAQ

In Iraq, few genetic studies on the genetic variety of honeybee queen breeder colonies (Apis mellifera L.) have been carried out. In the current genetic research, the intergenic area of the cytochrome C oxidase I (COI or Cox1) gene area was sequenced in order to assess the diversity of the mitochondrial DNA sequences of honeybees from different regions of Iraq. A total of 240 worker honey bees were accumulated from various locations; four regions (Arbil, Karbala, Al-Qadisiyah, and Baghdad) in Iraq and the PCR technique was used in this genetic study. The results of current genetic study indicated that honey bee samples obtained using Cox1 primer (750 bp) belong to the C lineage, which includes population from the northern Mediterranean area and eastern Europe. In general, this study is the genetic study to utilize the mitochondrial DNA sequences extensively on the breeder colonies in Iraq. Understanding the genetic components of the Apis mellifera population in Iraq will need further genetic study on the wild population with the same molecular technique.