Microsatellite Marker Discovery in the Stingless Bee Uruçu-Amarela ( Group, Hymenoptera, Meliponini) for Population Genetic Analysis.

The species Lepeletier, 1836 is a Brazilian native stingless bee that is part of a species complex known as the ' group', making it difficult to distinguish between the different species. Populations in this group are facing a severe decline, leading to the risk of local extinction, and therefore, their conservation should be treated as a major concern. This study describes the first set of tri- and tetranucleotide microsatellite markers, using next-generation sequencing technology for use in the identification of genetic diversity and population structure in the ' group'. A total of 16 microsatellite displayed polymorphism. Analysis of the whole data set (n = 50) detected 63 alleles in all , ranging from 2 to 7 with a mean of 3.9 alleles/locus. A genetic diversity analysis revealed high values for population differentiation estimates ( = 0.252, = 0.317, and = 0.284) between the Atlantic Forest, Cerrado, and Caatinga biomes. An additional evidence for genetic divergence among populations was also found in the ' group'; these should be treated as separate conservation units or even as separate species. These microsatellite markers have demonstrated a strong potential for assessing population discrimination in this threatened stingless bee group.