Analysis of the presence of the SCAR marker associated with the B chromosome in stingless bee species from genus Partamona

Abstract

The discovery of B chromosomes in individuals of Partamona helleri stimulated the development of several studies on these chromosomes in this bee species. These works ranged from classical cytogenetics to the creation of a specific marker for B chromosome (SCAR marker). Such marker has also been found in three other species of the genus (P. cupira, P. rustica and P. criptica), which could indicate the presence of a B chromosome with a similar sequence in these species. Aiming at understanding the dynamics of this chromosome in Partamona, we tested the SCAR marker in 1367 individuals from 151 colonies of 15 species of the genus (P. cupira, P. helleri, P. aff helleri, P. rustica, P. seridoenses, P. ailyae, P. chapadicola, P. combinata, P. criptica, P. epiphytophila, P. gregaria, P. mulatta, P. nhambiquara, P. testacea and P. vicina). Among the analyzed species the SCAR marker was detected in five of them (P. cupira, P. helleri, P. aff helleri, P. rustica and P. seridoenses). P. sp. (aff) helleri showed the highest prevalence index, followed by P. helleri. A comparison between the prevalence values obtained for the analyzed populations and literature data showed that these chromosomes present both inter- and intrapopulation variation. Data from this work associated with previous studies indicate that this chromosome may have originated in one species and has been transferred through hybridization processes to other species from genus Partamona.