Monitoring the genetic diversity in holothurian populations from the Italian coasts with mitochondrial DNA sequences.

Sea cucumbers are deposit feeding members of marine benthic communities. The over-exploitation of sea cucumber natural stocks, especially in the Mediterranean basin, is having negative impacts on the marine ecosystem. This concerns had led the Italian government to take legal actions to preserve these important marine resources.

Distribution of honey bee mitochondrial DNA haplotypes in an Italian region where a legislative act is protecting the Apis mellifera ligustica subspecies.

The conservation of the genetic integrity of Apis mellifera subspecies has emerged as an important objective. In 2019, the Emilia-Romagna region became the first Italian regional authority to issue a law specifically addressing the protection of the native Apis mellifera ligustica subspecies. In this study we analysed a highly informative portion of the mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA), widely used for assessing genetic diversity of honey bee populations.

Ancient DNA re-opens the question of the phylogenetic position of the Sardinian pika Prolagus sardus (Wagner, 1829), an extinct lagomorph.

Palaeogenomics is contributing to refine our understanding of many major evolutionary events at an unprecedented resolution, with relevant impacts in several fields, including phylogenetics of extinct species. Few extant and extinct animal species from Mediterranean regions have been characterised at the DNA level thus far. The Sardinian pika, Prolagus sardus (Wagner, 1829), was an iconic lagomorph species that populated Sardinia and Corsica and became extinct during the Holocene.

Whole genome sequencing identifies candidate genes and mutations that can explain diluted and other colour varieties of domestic canaries (Serinus canaria).

The domestic canary (Serinus canaria) is one of the most common pet birds and has been extensively selected and bred over the last few centuries to constitute many different varieties. Plumage pigmentation is one of the main phenotypic traits that distinguish canary breeds and lines. Feather colours in these birds, similarly to other avian species, are mainly depended on the presence of two major types of pigments: carotenoids and melanins.

A genotyping by sequencing approach can disclose Apis mellifera population genomic information contained in honey environmental DNA.

Awareness has been raised over the last years on the genetic integrity of autochthonous honey bee subspecies. Genomic tools available in Apis mellifera can make it possible to measure this information by targeting individual honey bee DNA. Honey contains DNA traces from all organisms that contributed or were involved in its production steps, including the honey bees of the colony.