Genetic differentiation between Apis cerana cerana populations from Damen Island and adjacent mainland in China

Geographic isolation interrupted gene flow between populations leading to population differentiation during the long evolutionary period. In this paper, 33 colonies from Damen Island and 100 colonies from adjacent mainland populations, Juxi and Chixi, were analyzed with both mitochondrial tRNAleu-COII sequences and five microsatellite loci. The results showed that Apis cerana cerana population from Damen Island significantly differentiated from its adjacent mainland populations. In addition, Damen Island population showed a lower level of genetic diversity in terms of the number of mitochondrial haplotypes while both island and mainland populations showed a low level of genetic diversity with mutilocus analysis. The divergent small island population A.c. cerana might probably have suffered inbreeding and genetic drift as well as limited gene flow across the strait. Our data provides useful information for management and preservation for the Damen Island population.