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Unit 3 Post Lab Questions

The group analyzed morphological and DNA data from European, African, and unknown bees. The morphological data showed some overlap between European and African bees, with the unknown bees' wings being closer in length to Europeans on average. DNA analysis identified the unknown bees' maternal DNA as European. While molecular testing is more accurate, morphological examinations provide extra confirmation and are less expensive. Knowing that Africanized traits are dominant in hybrids makes morphological testing less critical when combined with DNA analysis.

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Lana Naser
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138 views3 pages

Unit 3 Post Lab Questions

The group analyzed morphological and DNA data from European, African, and unknown bees. The morphological data showed some overlap between European and African bees, with the unknown bees' wings being closer in length to Europeans on average. DNA analysis identified the unknown bees' maternal DNA as European. While molecular testing is more accurate, morphological examinations provide extra confirmation and are less expensive. Knowing that Africanized traits are dominant in hybrids makes morphological testing less critical when combined with DNA analysis.

Uploaded by

Lana Naser
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Unit 3 Post Lab Questions

Group #: 6
Names:​ ​Lana Naser, Caroline Grant, Paige Dunn, Jazmine Lowe

Morphological Data
1. On your graph, is there overlap between the curves of the African and
European bees?
There was an overlap but the curve of the African bee was lower than the European bee
considering that the European wings are longer on average than the African wings.

2. Does the distribution of the unknown bees fall completely within that of the
African or European bees? If not, how confident can you be that the
unknown bees are from an Africanized hive?
The distribution of the unknown bees falls within that of the European hive because the
average length of the unknown bee wings is closer to the European average length than
the African average length.

3. Africanized bees are usually smaller than European bees, but European
bees in an area under climatic stress may be smaller than other European
bees from another area. If this test is not 100% conclusive, why use it at
all?
It gives a more generalized statement for all european and african honeybees. There
will always be random outliers but most african honey bees share the same size, same
goes for european honeybees.

DNA Analysis
4. Using DNA analyses, could you identify your unidentified bees as
Africanized or European bees?
The unidentified bees’ maternal mitochondrial DNA can be identified as European bee
DNA, but the unidentified bees themselves could be Africanized or European.

What were your results?


The DNA analysis shows the unidentified bees having two bands in the gel.

5. How do your electrophoretic results compare to the morphological data


you graphed?
The unknown bee wings that we measured had lengths very similar to the EHB wing
lengths (same average) and the electrophoretic results of the unknown bees were very
similar to the electrophoretic results of the EHBs.
Unit 3 Post Lab Questions

6. Figure 3-5 (pg 44 in lab manual) is a gel resulting from a recent survey of
suspected Africanized hives in North Carolina. What do the results
indicate? How can you tell?
Since the gel shows two bands for the members of the hive, these bees’ maternal
mitochondrial DNA came from European bees.

7. Why not simply conduct the molecular testing on a sample of workers and
do away with the morphological examination? (Consider economics and
male contribution to possible behavior.) Would knowing that Africanized
behavior is dominant in hybrids make the morphological test more or less
valuable as a diagnostic tool? Defend your answer.
The molecular testing is much more accurate than morphological examinations, but
molecular testing cannot distinguish hybrids since molecular testing depends on
maternal DNA only. Also, molecular testing is much more expensive than morphological
examinations, so using morphological examinations in addition to the molecular testing
is an extra way to check one’s findings. Knowing that Africanized behavior is dominant
in hybrids would make the morphological test less valuable as a diagnostic tool because
this would be a new way to tell if bees are hybrids after identifying the type of maternal
DNA the bees possess without needing the morphological test as much.

Applying Your Knowledge


8. There is a reason to suspect that several factors favor the spread of
Africanized traits. Discuss how each of the following scenarios could affect
the behavior of the hive and what would be the probable result of the
subsequent morphological and DNA analyses.
a. Many female insects store sperm from matings in an organ known as
a spermatheca. Female bees tend to preferentially use stored sperm
from Africanized drones when mated to both Africanized and
European drones.
If the female bees prefer to use the stored sperm of AfHBs, then there will be a higher
rate of AfHB traits spread among the hive than pure EHB traits. If the females reproduce
more often with AfHB sperm then the morphological data will show wing lengths similar
to that of AfHBs, the mtDNA results will depend on whether the female bee is an AfHB
or a EHB.

b. Africanized queens develop faster and are more likely to become


queens should a hive lose its queen. Generally, the first queen to
develop in this situation stings her sisters to death before they
emerge from their puparia. Any sister queens emerging at the same
Unit 3 Post Lab Questions

time fight to the death for possession of the hive. The Africanized
queens win more of these fights, killing any newly emerged
European queens.
Because the Africanized queens develop faster and are more likely to survive and win
fights than the European queens, it is likely that more Africanized queens will take over
the hives of European bees, mating with more the European drones. The more
Africanized queens there are, the faster the spread of Africanized traits among the
EHBs. In this scenario specifically, the mother bee is the AfHB so in subsequent mtDNA
analyses, the results will come back to match or be similar to those of AHBs. Because
the morphological data is related to the father, it just depends if the AfHB queen uses
AfHB sperm or EHB sperm.

c. A beekeeper suspects that his hive has been Africanized due to


increased defensiveness and other behavior by worker bees. He
submits a large-sized sample. The morphological data indicate more
overlap with Africanized characteristics than with European
reference populations. However, DNA analysis of mitochondria
yields no evidence of Africanization. How would you advise him?
Because the mtDNA analysis shows no evidence of Africanization, the queens are likely
still EHBs choosing to use the stored sperm of Africanized drones, which would explain
why the morphological data represents overlap with Africanized characteristics.

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