Microsatellite loci for an endemic stingless bee Melipona seminigra merrillae (Apidae, meliponini) from Amazon

Abstract

Melipona seminigra merrillae is one of the main pollinators of Central Amazon native flora. These stingless bees are reared as economic alternative and for forest conservation purposes. Nine polymorphic microsatellite markers were characterized in 44 genotypes of M. seminigra merrillae from the Meliponary of the Instituto Nacional de Pesquisas da Amazonia, INPA (3° 05.838′S 059° 59.103′W), Manaus, Brazil. The number of alleles observed for each locus ranged from 3 to 8, with an average of 3.7 alleles per locus. The polymorphism information content (PIC) varied between 0.21 and 0.81 (average 0.50) and the discriminating power (D) ranged from 0.59 to 0.98 (average 0.77). The observed heterozygosity (H o) and the expected heterozygosity (H e) were 0.04-0.68 and 0.19-0.84, respectively. A cross-amplification test in three Melipona species suggested potential transferability of these microsatellites. These microsatellite markers should be useful for characterizing natural populations and specie conservation. © Springer Science+Business Media B.V. 2009.