Abstract
The distribution of the honey bee lineages in North Lebanon and Akkar governorates was analyzed using the mitochondrial DNA (MtDNA) test through the amplification of the COI-COII region by polymerase chain reaction followed by DraI enzyme restriction analysis. A total of 95 samples were collected from 32 different locations, in addition to two reference samples. MtDNA analysis showed that 72% of the studied samples belong to the native subspecies A. m. syriaca corresponding to the Z subgroup of lineage A, mainly found in regions of North Lebanon and northern part of Akkar. Samples belonging to the C lineage were more distributed in the inner, eastern and southern regions of Akkar. The regions where the Z subgroup still prevailed could be considered as candidate reserve areas for the local subspecies.
Disclosure statement
No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).
Supplementary material
Supplementary Figures 1 and 2 are available via the ‘Supplementary’ tab on the article’s online page (http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/10.1080/00218839.2020.1740407).