PHYLOGENETIC-RELATIONSHIPS IN THE GENUS APIS INFERRED FROM MITOCHONDRIAL-DNA SEQUENCE DATA

The nucleotide sequence of the 5'end of the mitochondrial cytochrome-oxydase subunit 11 gene was obtained through direct sequencing of PCR (Polymerase Chain Reaction) product from 4 Apis species (mellifera, cerana, dorsata and florea) and Bombus lucorum (Apidae) and Xylocopa violacea (Anthophoridae) as outgroups. Phylogenetic trees were built using Neighbor-Joining and parsimony methods. Three branches, dorsata, florea and cerana-mellifera diverged almost simultaneously and cerana separated from mellifera later but not as early as generally thought.