2025/09/29 by Patsavee Utaipanon, Erica Y. Y. Mo, Ella Kelly +5 · 1 voice
Agricultural and Biological Sciences · Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology · #Plant and animal studies #Insect and Pesticide Research #Insect and Arachnid Ecology and Behavior
paper · pdf · doi:10.1007/s00040-025-01064-8
openalex publication_date 2025/09/29 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/29
Abstract Our reliance on honey bees for pollination has lead to greater uptake of modern animal breeding methods around the world to improve bee health and productivity. As breeding can result in loss of genetic diversity, it is worth considering the standing genetic diversity in breeding populations from the outset. A bee breeding program (Plan Bee) commenced in Australia in 2020. This study sought to quantify the genetic diversity of the population so that it could be tracked over time. Population genetic analyses of data from 8 microsatellite markers indicate that there is sufficient genetic diversity, geographical and legal barriers to bee movement, and individual queen mating strategies have resulted in genetic structure.