ABSTRACT
Honeybee species are considered as an important component of ecosystems because of their pollinating potential, being a rich source of honey and other aspects of economic importance. However, the recent decline of honeybee populations threatens the agricultural ecosystem, especially the production and productivity of several economically important crops. Thus, the conservation of honeybee species and their populations is vital for global food production. Conservation of bees is critical both ecologically and economically. Recently, the genetics and genomic approaches of honeybee species have demonstrated themselves to be efficient tools for identifying the factors responsible for the decline of honeybee species and establishing a conservation strategy through an understanding of bee biology, evolutionary process, and identification and selection of desired traits against biotic and abiotic stress. In this chapter, we analyze the published literature and discuss the genetics and genomics of Apis dorsata and Apis laboriosa with special emphasis on the chromosome details, mitochondrial genome structure and analysis, genome sequences and gene identification, population structure, and genetic diversity and research gaps in these species.
