Thrice Out of Africa: Ancient and Recent Expansions of the Honey Bee, Apis mellifera

@article{Whitfield2006ThriceOO,
  title={Thrice Out of Africa: Ancient and Recent Expansions of the Honey Bee, Apis mellifera},
  author={Charles W Whitfield and Susanta K. Behura and Stewart H. Berlocher and Andrew G. Clark and J. Spencer Johnston and Walter Steven Sheppard and Deborah Roan Smith and Andrew V. Suarez and Daniel B. Weaver and Neil Durie Tsutsui},
  journal={Science},
  year={2006},
  volume={314},
  pages={642 - 645}
}
We characterized Apis mellifera in both native and introduced ranges using 1136 single-nucleotide polymorphisms genotyped in 341 individuals. Our results indicate that A. mellifera originated in Africa and expanded into Eurasia at least twice, resulting in populations in eastern and western Europe that are geographically close but genetically distant. A third expansion in the New World has involved the near-replacement of previously introduced “European” honey bees by descendants of more… 
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385 Citations

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