A study on the genetic variability of stingless bees in Terengganu by using random Amplified Polymorphic DNA (RAPD) markers: a preliminary assessment
Heterotrigona itama and Tetragonula fuscobalteata are two common stingless bees species found in Malaysia. Information regarding the application of the molecular technique in genetic variation of the population of these species is very little. The aim of this study is to investigate the geneti...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Pusat Sistematik Serangga, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia
2020
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| Online Access: | http://journalarticle.ukm.my/16598/ http://journalarticle.ukm.my/16598/1/37289-144579-1-PB.pdf |
| Summary: | Heterotrigona itama and Tetragonula fuscobalteata are two common stingless bees species
found in Malaysia. Information regarding the application of the molecular technique in genetic
variation of the population of these species is very little. The aim of this study is to investigate
the genetic variation of the H. itama and T. fuscobalteata by using Random Amplified
Polymorphic DNA (RAPD) marker. Eight samples from each species were sampled from
Merchang and Kuala Nerus, Terengganu. The extraction of DNA samples based on DNeasy
Blood and Tissues Kit from Qiagen. The DNA purity and quality were measured by using
BioDrop™µLITE dsDNA. The amplification of the DNA was conducted with OPA-12 and
OPA-16 primers for H. itama and OPA-03 and OPA-09 primers for T. fuscobalteata. A total of
18 RAPD bands with 15 polymorphic bands (83%) ranging in size from 350-2500 bp were
identified from H. itama. For T. fuscobalteata, 15 bands with 13 polymorphic bands (87%) with
sizes ranging from 300-1250 bp. Firstly, the results indicated that the population of H. itama and
T. fuscobalteata have high levels of polymorphism due to a low inbreeding factor within their
population and the results also revealed that these species have genetic variability. The findings
of this study will be used as basic genetic information for stingless bees’ breeding programmes
and conservation and management of these species in Malaysia. |
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