Genetic changes in Apis mellifera after 40 years of Africanization

The Africanization process of the honeybee Apis mellifera in America is considered one of the most spectacular biological invasions documented so far. It started in So Paulo (Brazil) in 1956 and the process has extended to almost all the continent (from the United States, to Argentina and Uruguay). The aim of this study was to evaluate the present status of Africanization in Uruguay after 40 years of its entrance, as well as to determine the circulating honeybee haplotypes through genetic (mitochondrial DNA) and morphometric approaches. Results showed that Africanized bees are completely established in Uruguay, representing 80 % of the analyzed colonies, distributed throughout the whole country. A great genetic diversity was found, detecting eight different haplotypes. Some of them have been previously reported in the country, while others are new. The persistence of the non-African haplotypes in western provinces (PaysandA(0), Rio Negro, Soriano and Colonia) may be due to a strong importation of European queens. This fact is probably avoiding the complete Africanization of the Uruguayan colonies.