Title: ``Binary trait loci (BTLs) and Quantitative trait loci (QTLs) that influence the expression of defensive behavior of honey bees.''
Speaker: Dr. Miguel E. Arechavaleta-Velasco, Department of Statistics, Purdue University
Place: LILLY G126; Tuesday, 4:30pm

Abstract

This study was conducted to detect binary trait loci (BTLs) that influence guarding behavior of individual bees and locate genetic markers that are associated with these BTLs on two genetic maps and to test for the effect of three stinging behavior quantitative trait loci (QTLs) (sting-1, sting-2 and sting-3) on guarding and stinging behaviors of individual bees. Reciprocal backcross colonies were derived from a gentle colony and a defensive colony. Samples of guards, stingers, foragers and nurse bees were taken from two of the backcross colonies. The genotype of each sampled bee was determined for two sequence tagged site (STS) markers linked to sting-1 and for another two STSs, one linked to sting-2 and one linked to sting-3. Sting-1 had an effect on both stinging and guarding behaviors, sting-2 and sting-3 affected only guarding behavior. Genetic maps were constructed with the samples of guards from the two backcross colonies. In the gentle backcross 130 markers were incorporated into 21 linkage groups that span 1230 cM and in the defensive backcross 133 markers were incorporated into 23 linkage groups that span 1513 cM of the honey bee genome. Ten markers were found to be associated with guarding behavior based on a Chi-square test. Five were detected in the gentle backcross and five in the defensive backcross. The ten markers represented seven putative BTLs influencing guarding behavior.