Microdissection: a tool for bee chromosome studies

The emergence of new molecular biology techniques has provided cytogenetics with tools which allow for the elucidation of questions that classical cytogenetics could not answer. Therefore, the present work standardizes a microdissection protocol for cytogenetic studies in bees. This methodology was first used in these insects and may contribute greatly to studies involving chromosomal rearrangements, heterochromatin composition, B chromosomes and others. For this study, the centromeric region of chromosomes in the stingless bee Tetragonisca fiebrigi was used for probe synthesis. The results demonstrated that the methodology used was efficient, presenting markings in the centromeric regions of several chromosomes. Hybridization in other sites indicates that the probe was able to detect regions that present homology with its sequence. This indicates that the technique is effective to study chromosomal evolution, genome organization and even the origin of B chromosomes.