A Study On The Specific Honeybee Species And The Characteristic Honey In Ganzi Plateau

The territory of Ganzi Plateau is mainly characterized by high mountain canyons and hilly plateau landforms,with a wide forest coverage area,abundant honey source plants,and a good ecological environment,suitable for the development of beekeeping industry.At present,by the investigation of bee industry resources in Sichuan Province,it has been found that the Chinese bees in the Batang,Derong,and Yajiang regions of Ganzi Prefecture have unique morphological characteristics and significant genetic differentiation compared to the Chinese bees in the adjacent Chengdu and Aba regions.Currently,there is relatively little relevant data collected,and larger sample size experiments are needed to study their morphological characteristics and genetic relationships.The development of the bee industry requires good bee species on one hand,and good honey source plants to produce high-quality honey on the other hand.Therefore,the identification of the quality attributes of honey is of great significance for the development of the bee industry.At present,the research on the quality attributes of honey in Ganzi Prefecture is still blank.This study used two methods,morphological determination and mitochondrial DNA COI sequencing,to analyze the morphological indicators and genetic diversity of 121 populations sampled from three endemic bee species in Ganzi Prefecture,neighboring Chinese bees in Aba Prefecture,and Chinese bees in Sichuan Chengdu.At the same time,27 honey samples from11 counties in Ganzi Prefecture were identified for their quality attributes.The main results are as follows:1.Diversity of morphological characteristicsThe experiment analyzed 22 morphological characteristics of 5 Chinese bee populations,and one-way ANOVA analysis of morphological indicators showed that among the five Chinese bee populations,Batang Chinese bee had the largest individual,which has relations with nectar harvesting ability and wax secretion ability.In Derong,the bees have the longest proboscis.According to the results of factor analysis and cluster analysis of morphological indicators,Chengdu Chinese bee and Apis cerana abanisis clustered separately into one branch.Through discriminant analysis,Batang Chinese bee,Yajiang Chinese bee,Derong Chinese bee,Chengdu Chinese bee,and Apis cerana abanisis clustered into 5 categories.However,Apis cerana abanisis,Batang Chinese bee,Yajiang Chinese bee,and Derong Chinese bee were relatively close,and the morphological differences were not significant.2.Mitochondrial DNA COI diversityA total of 121 790 bp Chinese bee mt DNA COI sequences were obtained in the experiment,with an average A+T content of 74.9%,indicating base bias.The measured sequence has 13 mutation sites,with a total of 12 haplotypes defined.The overall haplotype diversity(Hd)is 0.810.The Batang,Derong,and Yajiang populations in the Ganzi Plateau region all have their own unique haplotypes.The common haplotypes H6 and H8 are only present in bee species in the Ganzi Plateau region.The Fst values of Apis cerana abanisis between Yajiang Chinese bee,Batang Chinese bee,and Derong Chinese bee were 0.52949,0.48989 and 0.42884,respectively,indicating significant genetic differentiation populations.The unique bee species in Ganzi Prefecture do not belong to Apis cerana abanisis.The populations of Derong,Yajiang,and Batang in the Ganzi Prefecture region are independent in terms of genetic relationships,and have relatively distant genetic relationships with the populations of Aba and Chengdu.Yajiang Chinese bee,Batang Chinese bee,and Derong Chinese bee can be identified as different local varieties through the mt DNA COI.The Chengdu Chinese bee and the other four Chinese bee populations have shown a trend of gene exchange.3.Honey quality attributesThrough the determination of total phenols and antioxidant capacity,27 honey samples from Ganzi Plateau have abundant phenolic compounds,with antioxidant capacity of1557.3 ± 10.21 μg/100 g is strong,and 12 honey samples have a antibacterial zone greater than 8mm against Staphylococcus aureus,mainly containing honey from three types of honey source plants: Malus bhutanica,Rosa laevigata,and Strobilanthes oresbia.Among them,Malus bhutanica is widely distributed in Ganzi Plateau,and its antioxidant properties,total phenolic content,and antibacterial ability are prominent,which has great development value.In summary,through comprehensive analysis of morphology and mt DNA results,there are significant differences between Derong Chinese bee,Batang Chinese bee,Yajiang Chinese bee and the surrounding Chinese honeybees,indicating that they are unique local resources in Ganzi Plateau.Through multi indicator detection and analysis of honey types in Ganzi Plateau,three local characteristic honey types were identified,mainly with prominent antibacterial functions.The results of this study can provide reference for the protection of local bee species resources and the development and utilization of local characteristic honey products.