Polymorphism of Hyper-Variable Region of the csd Genein the Apis mellifera L. Population in Southern Ural
In honey bees, sex is determined by an allelic combination of the csd gene. Low allelic diversity in the csd gene leads to a loss of colony strength, due to the appearance of nonviable diploid drones from eggs that homozygous for the csd gene. Therefore, in beekeeping there is need to identify and monitor the allelic diversity of the csd gene. In this paper, we present the results of the polymorphism analysis of hyper-variable region of the csd gene in the local population of Apis mellifera mellifera L. in Southern Ural. Among 42 amino acid sequences encoded by the alleles of hyper-variable region 20 alleles were identified, 5 of which were previously unknown. It was shown that the allelic diversity for the csd gene for a study population corresponds to those known for other populations of A.mellifera L.