Characterization of honeybee (Apis mellifera L.) chromosomes using repetitive DNA probes and fluorescence in situ hybridization.

Two different repetitive DNA probes of Apis mellifera and ribosomal DNA from Drosophila melanogaster were used to characterize the chromosomal set of the honeybee (n = 16). The probes were hybridized to chromosome preparations of haploid testis tissue from drone larvae using fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH). The honeybee probes hybridized to the telomeric (Alu I family) and centromeric region (Ava I family) of most chromosomes. The rDNA probe labeled two chromosomes only. Combination of the three probes yielded labeled patterns allowing us to identify each chromosome of the honeybee individually. This is the first report of an unambiguous identification of the chromosomal set of the honeybee, since classical banding techniques failed to yield clear patterns for identification. The consensus sequence of the centromeric reiterated probe (Ava I family) has a length of about 550 nucleotides and shows no homology to other known sequences. However, the structural organization of a 130-nucleotides long motif forming the unusually homogeneous 550 nucleotides repeat is similar to those found in mammals' repetitive DNAs.