SHARMA, HARISH KUMARSAWRAJ JIT SINGH2020-10-292020-10-292020-10https://krishikosh.egranth.ac.in/handle/1/5810153976ABSTRACT The present investigations titled “Molecular and morphometric variability in Apis cerana F. from different agro-climatic zones in Himachal Pradesh” were carried out in the Apiculture Laboratory of the Department of Entomology, Dr Y S Parmar University of Horticulture and Forestry, Nauni, Solan (HP) and Molecular Laboratory of the Plant Protection Division, Central Potato Research Institute, Shimla (HP). The current study is the first documentation of molecular characterization of Apis cerana cerana from Himachal Pradesh. Samples of A. c. cerana workers were collected from the nine different locations representing three agro-climatic zones of Himachal Pradesh viz., Palampur and Nurpur (Kangra), Upper Behli (Mandi), Narag (Sirmaur), Mashobra (Shimla), Nauni (Solan), Kalsuin (Chamba), Bajaura and Seobagh (Kullu) during 2019-2020. Morphometric analysis of A. c. cerana showed significant variations revealing no specific correlation with altitude. The observations revealed variations in body length (10.548-12.999 mm), head length (2.803-3.060 mm), thorax length (3.242-3.972 mm), abdomen length (4.333-6.058 mm), antennal length (4.1684.388 mm), proboscis length (5.262-5.727 mm), forewing length x breadth (8.625-8.950 mm x 2.7603.145 mm), hindwing length x breadth (6.068-6.426 mm x 1.665-1.853 mm) and hamuli number (17.55-19.60). The body colour of A. c. cerana workers varied from yellowish brown to blackish brown. Bees collected from Mashobra, Kalsuin, Narag, Palampur, Seobagh and Bajaura were comparatively darker than those from Nurpur, Upper Behli and Nauni. The mtCOI gene characterization of the subspecies possessed genetic distance ranging from 0.000 to 0.009, revealing two distinct clades; the population of A. c. cerana from Palampur (MT027920), Bajaura (MT027915) and Seobagh (MT027917) were grouped together in clade I due to close proximity, while population of A. c. cerana from Mashobra (MT027916), Nurpur (MT027905), Nauni (MT027919), Upper Behli (MT027922), Kalsuin (MT027904) and Narag (MT027921) were clubbed in clade II. The average nucleotide compositions were found to be adenine (32.74 %), thymine (40.71 %), guanine (11.49 %) and cytosine (15.1 %). The phylogenetic results indicate that sub-species from Himachal Pradesh shares close tie with same sub-species from neighbouring country China. Overall, the minimum genetic distance (0.0024) was observed between A. c. cerana from Himachal Pradesh and China (AP017983), whereas, it was maximum (0.0262) in between A. c. cerana from Himachal Pradesh and A. c. indica from Kerala (MH331013). Such variations can be exploited for improving the strain through selective breeding programme.EnglishThesis