title: Genetic Diversity in Nannotrigona testaceicornis (Hymenoptera: Apidae) Aggregations in Southeastern Brazil.
abstract: The Meliponini, also known as stingless bees, are distributed in tropical and subtropical areas of the world and plays an essential role in pollinating many wild plants and crops These bees can build nests in cavities of trees or walls, underground or in associations with ants or termites; interestingly, these nests are sometimes found in aggregations. In order to assess the genetic diversity and structure in aggregates of Nannotrigona testaceicornis (Lepeletier), samples of this species were collected from six aggregations and genetically analyzed for eight specific microsatellite loci. We observed in this analysis that the mean genetic diversity value among aggregations was 0.354, and the mean expected and observed heterozygosity values was 0.414 and 0.283, respectively. The statistically significant Fis value indicated an observed heterozygosity lower than the expected heterozygosity in all loci studied resulting in high homozygosis level in these populations. In addition, the low number of private alleles observed reinforces the absence of structuring that is seen in the aggregates. These results can provide relevant information about genetic diversity in aggregations of N. testaceicornis and contribute to the management and conservation of these bees' species that are critical for the pollination process.
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Genética, Faculdade de Medicina de Ribeirão Preto, Universidade de São Paulo, Av. Bandeirantes, 3900, Ribeirão Preto-SP 14049-900, Brazil simonetialine@gmail.com.
authors.forename: A S
authors.initials: AS
authors.lastname: Fonseca
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Ciências Biológicas, Laboratório de Entomologia, Universidade Estadual de Feira de Santana, Av. Transnordestina, s/n, Feira de Santana-BA 44036-900, Brazil.
authors.forename: E J F
authors.initials: EJ
authors.lastname: Oliveira
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Genética, Faculdade de Medicina de Ribeirão Preto, Universidade de São Paulo, Av. Bandeirantes, 3900, Ribeirão Preto-SP 14049-900, Brazil.
authors.forename: G S
authors.initials: GS
authors.lastname: Freitas
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Genética, Faculdade de Medicina de Ribeirão Preto, Universidade de São Paulo, Av. Bandeirantes, 3900, Ribeirão Preto-SP 14049-900, Brazil.
authors.forename: A F
authors.initials: AF
authors.lastname: Assis
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Genética, Faculdade de Medicina de Ribeirão Preto, Universidade de São Paulo, Av. Bandeirantes, 3900, Ribeirão Preto-SP 14049-900, Brazil.
authors.forename: C C M
authors.initials: CC
authors.lastname: Souza
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Genética, Faculdade de Medicina de Ribeirão Preto, Universidade de São Paulo, Av. Bandeirantes, 3900, Ribeirão Preto-SP 14049-900, Brazil.
authors.forename: E P B
authors.initials: EP
authors.lastname: Contel
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Genética, Faculdade de Medicina de Ribeirão Preto, Universidade de São Paulo, Av. Bandeirantes, 3900, Ribeirão Preto-SP 14049-900, Brazil.
authors.forename: A E E
authors.initials: AE
authors.lastname: Soares
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001516:Bees / Q000235:genetics*; D001938:Brazil; D014644:Genetic Variation; D006579:Heterozygote; D018895:Microsatellite Repeats
keywords: allele variability; microsatellite; nest aggregation; stingless bee