Publication
Human-mediated introgression and Varroa destructor shaped the genetic structure of honey bee populations in the Azores
| datacite.subject.fos | Ciências Naturais::Outras Ciências Naturais | |
| datacite.subject.fos | Ciências Agrárias::Biotecnologia Agrária e Alimentar | |
| datacite.subject.sdg | 15:Proteger a Vida Terrestre | |
| datacite.subject.sdg | 04:Educação de Qualidade | |
| dc.contributor.author | Henriques, Dora | |
| dc.contributor.author | Lopes, Ana | |
| dc.contributor.author | Low, Matthew | |
| dc.contributor.author | Pinto, M. Alice | |
| dc.date.accessioned | 2025-11-10T17:27:11Z | |
| dc.date.available | 2025-11-10T17:27:11Z | |
| dc.date.issued | 2025 | |
| dc.description.abstract | The evolutionary trajectory of island populations can be rapidly altered by human-mediated migration, a process further exacerbated when immigrants introduce invasive parasites, creating new selective pressures. Using customised SNP panels constructed with genome-wide diagnostic loci, we describe the genetic changes in honey bee populations inhabiting the Azores archipelago. As part of a breeding initiative in the 1980s, these populations were recurrently exposed to beekeeper-mediated gene flow from a highly divergent commercial line (C lineage) until the arrival of the Varroa mite to the Azores in 2000, which prompted a honey bee importation ban. Admixture analysis revealed a spatially heterogeneous introgression landscape in the Azores. Four of the five mite-free islands (Santa Maria, S & atilde;o Miguel, Terceira, and S & atilde;o Jorge) presented negligible levels of C-lineage introgression (mean Q-value: 0.004-0.091) despite repeated C-lineage importations in the past. In contrast, the three mite-infested islands (Pico, Faial, and Flores) presented high levels of introgression (mean Q-value: 0.156-0.261). The mite-free island of Graciosa harboured the most admixed population (mean Q-value: 0.392), which is consistent with efforts to eradicate the historical population and replace it with C-lineage honey bees during the implementation of the breeding program. Bayesian inference modelling indicated that the presence of a C-lineage maternal origin and Varroa were associated with increased introgression proportions (100% posterior probability), increasing the mean Q-value by 0.049 and 0.118, respectively. Our findings indicate that these anthropogenic processes altered the historically introduced gene pool and provide a foundation for developing effective conservation strategies to protect honey bees in the Azores. | eng |
| dc.description.sponsorship | Financial support was provided by Portuguese funds through the Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT, Portugal) and by FEDER (Fundo Europeu de Desenvolvimento Regional) through the program COMPETE 2020-POCI (Programa Operacional para a Competividade e Internacionalização) in the framework of the project BeeHappy (POCI-01-0145-FEDER-029871). ARL was funded by FCT through the individual research grant SFRH/BD/143627/2019. ML was funded by the Swedish Research Council (2017-03963). FCT provided financial support by national funds (FCT/MCTES) to CIMO (UIDB/00690/2020 and UIDP/00690/2020) and SusTEC (LA/P/0007/2021). | |
| dc.identifier.citation | Henriques, Dora; Lopes, Ana; Low, Matthew; Pinto, M. Alice (2025) Human-mediated introgression and Varroa destructor shaped the genetic structure of honey bee populations in the Azores. Scientific Reports. ISSN 2045-2322. 15:1, p. 1-12 | |
| dc.identifier.doi | 10.1038/s41598-025-08950-y | |
| dc.identifier.issn | 2045-2322 | |
| dc.identifier.uri | http://hdl.handle.net/10198/35021 | |
| dc.language.iso | eng | |
| dc.peerreviewed | yes | |
| dc.publisher | Springer | |
| dc.relation | Honeybees Apis mellifera L. in the Azores: developing innovative molecular tools and uncovering host-pathogen interactions in a pre- and post-Varroa destructor invasion | |
| dc.relation | Mountain Research Center | |
| dc.relation | Associate Laboratory for Sustainability and Tecnology in Mountain Regions | |
| dc.relation.ispartof | Scientific Reports | |
| dc.rights.uri | http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ | |
| dc.subject | Apis melífera | |
| dc.subject | Varroa destructor | |
| dc.subject | Introgression | |
| dc.subject | Conservation | |
| dc.subject | Azores | |
| dc.title | Human-mediated introgression and Varroa destructor shaped the genetic structure of honey bee populations in the Azores | eng |
| dc.type | journal article | |
| dspace.entity.type | Publication | |
| oaire.awardTitle | Honeybees Apis mellifera L. in the Azores: developing innovative molecular tools and uncovering host-pathogen interactions in a pre- and post-Varroa destructor invasion | |
| oaire.awardTitle | Mountain Research Center | |
| oaire.awardTitle | Associate Laboratory for Sustainability and Tecnology in Mountain Regions | |
| oaire.awardURI | info:eu-repo/grantAgreement/FCT//SFRH%2FBD%2F143627%2F2019/PT | |
| oaire.awardURI | info:eu-repo/grantAgreement/FCT/6817 - DCRRNI ID/UIDP%2F00690%2F2020/PT | |
| oaire.awardURI | info:eu-repo/grantAgreement/FCT/6817 - DCRRNI ID/LA%2FP%2F0007%2F2020/PT | |
| oaire.citation.endPage | 12 | |
| oaire.citation.issue | 1 | |
| oaire.citation.startPage | 1 | |
| oaire.citation.title | Scientific Reports | |
| oaire.citation.volume | 15 | |
| oaire.fundingStream | 6817 - DCRRNI ID | |
| oaire.fundingStream | 6817 - DCRRNI ID | |
| oaire.version | http://purl.org/coar/version/c_970fb48d4fbd8a85 | |
| person.familyName | Henriques | |
| person.familyName | Lopes | |
| person.familyName | Pinto | |
| person.givenName | Dora | |
| person.givenName | Ana | |
| person.givenName | M. Alice | |
| person.identifier.ciencia-id | 291F-986F-07DA | |
| person.identifier.ciencia-id | F014-6835-054D | |
| person.identifier.ciencia-id | F814-A1D0-8318 | |
| person.identifier.orcid | 0000-0001-7530-682X | |
| person.identifier.orcid | 0000-0002-1888-2262 | |
| person.identifier.orcid | 0000-0001-9663-8399 | |
| person.identifier.scopus-author-id | 55761737300 | |
| person.identifier.scopus-author-id | 8085507800 | |
| project.funder.identifier | http://doi.org/10.13039/501100001871 | |
| project.funder.identifier | http://doi.org/10.13039/501100001871 | |
| project.funder.identifier | http://doi.org/10.13039/501100001871 | |
| project.funder.name | Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia | |
| project.funder.name | Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia | |
| project.funder.name | Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia | |
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