Makhdzir Mardan

Morphometric studies of Apis cerana in Thailand and the Malaysian peninsula

SUMMARYSamples of Apis cerana were collected from 44 locations in 12 regions of Thailand and peninsular Malaysia. Morphometric measurements were made on 58 characters. Statistical analysis showed that these samples could be separated into four groups: northern to central Thailand, southern Thailand to the end of the Malaysian peninsula, Samui Island and, less distinctly, Phuket Island. These differences support the interpretation that A. cerana has spread its range into south-east Asia in recent geological times.

Identification of Lactobacillus plantarum, Lactobacillus pentosus and Lactobacillus fermentum from honey stomach of honeybee

This study aimed to isolate and identify Lactobacillus in the honey stomach of honeybee Apis dorsata. Samples of honeybee were collected from A. dorsata colonies in different bee trees and Lactobacillus bacteria isolated from honey stomachs. Ninety two isolates were Gram-stained and tested for catalase reaction. By using bacterial universal primers, the 16S rDNA gene from DNA of bacterial colonies amplified with polymerase chain reaction (PCR). Forty-nine bacterial 16S rDNA gene were sequenced and entrusted in GenBank. Phylogenetic analysis showed they were different phylotypes of Lactobacillus. Two of them were most closely relevant to the previously described species Lactobacillus plantarum. Other two phylotypes were identified to be closely related to Lactobacillus pentosus. However, only one phylotype was found to be distantly linked to the Lactobacillus fermentum. The outcomes of the present study indicated that L. plantarum, L. pentosus, and L. fermentum were the dominant lactobacilli in the honey stomach of honeybee A. dorsata collected during the dry season from Malaysia forest area - specifically “Melaleuca in Terengganu”.

Molecular identification of Lactobacillus spp. isolated from the honey comb of the honey bee (Apis dorsata) by 16S rRNA gene sequencing

Summary The objective of this study was to isolate and identify novel potential probiotic Lactobacillus using a culture method and Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) amplification of the 16S rRNA gene. Seventeen Lactobacillus strains were isolated from a full honey comb of the honey bee Apis dorsata using selective media. The 16S rRNA genes from the extracted DNA of bacterial colonies were amplified with PCR using universal bacteria primers. All bacterial 16S rRNA genes were sequenced, aligned and the distant bacteria were deposited in GenBank. The lactobacilli strains were identified as Lactobacillus spp. related-sequences (64.15%) with other abundant sequences being related to Lactobacillus kunkeei (34.85%). The findings revealed that Apis dorsata honey comb has potential to be a source of new bacteria with probiotic activities in honey bee or as natural food preservatives for the food industry.

Effects of Carbon Dioxide and Cold Anaesthesia on the Hoarding Behaviour of the Honeybee

SummaryHoarding behaviour of groups of newly emerged adult honeybees was measured after they had been exposed to CO2 for 10 min, or exposed to CO2 for long enough to immobilize them, or exposed to cold. Both CO2 and cold affected hoarding behaviour. Bees exposed to CO2 for 10 min initially hoarded less, and later hoarded more, than controls. The hoarding rate of bees exposed to CO2 only long enough to immovilize them, or exposed to cold, was generally depressed throughout the experiment. Due to the complex changes in hoarding that follow CO2 treatment, cold is judged to be the preferred anaesthetic for use in hoarding experiments.

Genetic Relatedness of Low Solitary Nests of Apis dorsata from Marang, Terengganu, Malaysia

Knowledge on the population of genetic structure and ecological behaviour of Apis dorsata from Peninsular Malaysia is needed for effective management and conservation of this species since unsustainable whole solitary low nest cutting for product harvesting is the current common practice here. The analysis of 15 single locus DNA microsatellite markers on samples from 20 solitary nests of A. dorsata showed that while these markers were polymorphic, high intracolonial relatedness existed. Furthermore, in general, slightly negative values of intercolony relatedness (R) among the nests of A. dorsata were found. However, positive values of mean intercolony relatedness were observed between 54 pairs of nests out of 190 possible combinations. The R values among nest pairs 3–4 and 3–5 was higher than 0.50 showing that their queens were half siblings, whereas nest pair 19–20 showed relatedness of 0.95 indicating that the same queen was sampled. The results that we obtained could not conclusively support the hypothesis of this study that the honey hunters in Marang district of Malaysia repeatedly harvest the same nest located at a different site and at a different time during the same honey harvesting season. However, our finding of an appreciable level of intercolonial relatedness between several pairs of nests in this pioneer study indicated that a comprehensive study with a larger sample size of solitary nests found throughout the region would be necessary to provide concrete proof for this novel idea.

Genetic structure of Malaysian Apis dorsata aggregations in Marang district (Terengganu)

Summary Apis dorsata is a major pollinator in the rainforests of Peninsular Malaysia, which is threatened by frequent harvesting via the removal of whole comb nests from trees during the harvesting season. There is an urgent need for conservation of this species and the long-term survival of tropical lowland forests. In this paper, the genetic relatedness of A. dorsata aggregations are addressed with a preliminary study on local populations in Malaysia. The analysis of 30 single locus DNA microsatellite markers on three aggregations at intra-aggregation level showed that the queens of different nests within an aggregation were significantly different and not related as mother-daughter (P > 0.063). At inter-aggregation level, the results demonstrated that there was no significant relatedness between the aggregations (P > 0.05) separated by a distance of 0.5 km. The results showed that adjacent aggregations were genetically different and had enough time for establishing the colonies to produce honey.