A new study looked at the genome of honeybees and found they most likely originated in Asia and not Africa as was previously suspected.

One-third of the world's food depends on pollination from bees. Honeybee population has been significantly declining over the past several years, much to the concern of researchers, Uppsala University reported. Bees are currently threatened by disease, climate change, and management practices. Researchers hope to gain insight into how bees have adapted in the past in order to save them in the future.

"We have used state-of-the-art high-throughput genomics to address these questions, and have identified high levels of genetic diversity in honeybees. In contrast to other domestic species, management of honeybees seems to have increased levels of genetic variation by mixing bees from different parts of the world. The findings may also indicate that high levels of inbreeding are not a major cause of global colony losses," said Matthew Webster, researcher at the department of Medical Biochemistry and Microbiology, Uppsala University.

The team also found honeybees come from cavity-nesting bees that arrived in Asia 300,000 years ago and then spread to other continents such as Africa.

"The evolutionary tree we constructed from genome sequences does not support an origin in Africa, this gives us new insight into how honeybees spread and became adapted to habitats across the world", says Matthew Webster.

They identified specific gene mutations dealing with innate immunity and morphology. In the past the bee population size is believed to have declined during the ice age, meaning the insects are effected by climate change.

"The study provides new insights into evolution and genetic adaptation, and establishes a framework for investigating the biological mechanisms behind disease resistance and adaptation to climate, knowledge that could be vital for protecting honeybees in a rapidly changing world," said Webster.

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