Deparment of Biology

ABSTRACT Extraordinary colony losses have been reported in early 2007 from several eastern provinces of Turkey. We have conducted a questionnaire study on a subsample of beekeepers from Turkey. This is the first report on 80 questionnaires representing over 10,000 colonies. We investigated whether there has been extraordinary winter losses in comparison to previous years through pairwise analysis of self-reported past and present losses of same beekeepers. This analysis indicated regional extraordinary bee losses.

ABSTRACT Forty population cages, each with 499 adult T. castaneum of the wild-type UPF strain, received a bb female newly mated with UPF males. Half of the immigrants had a Chicago Black genetic background, the other half a UPF background. These conditions simulate, respectively, the fate of a rare, genetically differing immigrant or the fate of a mutation in populations of considerable size. Adults were censused for 11 discrete generations.

ABSTRACT Multiple-choice crosses among five geographic strains of the housefly, Musca domestica L., were carried out in equal (10: 10) and low-frequency (4: 16) ratios. Initially, a low-frequency-male mating advantage was apparent, but further analyses related this minority advantage to a reduction of male mating success during marking by wing clipping.

Here, scientists from 19 European countries, most of them collaborating in Working Group 4:“Diversity and Vitality” of COST Action FA 0803 “Prevention of honey bee COlony LOSSes”(COLOSS), review the methodology applied in each country for discriminating between honey bee populations. Morphometric analyses (classical and geometric) and different molecular markers have been applied.

5. Evren asıl olarak bir tavuk yumurtası şeklindeydi. Tanrı bu yumurtadan çıktı ve evrenin temel fiziksel özelliklerini şekillendirdi. 18000 yıl sonra Tanrı öldü ve yeryüzünün geri kalanı onun vüducundan türedi: gökyüzü kubbesi onun kafatasından, kayalar onun kemiklerinden, toprak onun etinden, yağmur onun terinden, bitkiler onun saçlarından ve insanlar üstündeki pirelerden.(Çin)

ABSTRACT Recent genetic evaluations of R. lucifugus from France and Italy with R. lucifugusfrom Turkey suggests that these geographic groups likely constitute separate species. A more extensive review of eastern Mediterranean termites is needed to clarify their respective classifications. DNA sequencing analysis of the mitochondrial 16S rRNA region was used to examine genetic variation in the termite genus Reticulitermes Holmgren from eastern Europe and the Middle East.

ABSTRACT A study that involved DNA sequencing of COI-COII intergenic region of the mitochondrial DNA genome of Apis melliferahoney bees from Turkey was conducted to determine the population genetics and phylogeographic structure of this species from seven distinct areas of Turkey. From the 132 honey bees subjected to DNA sequencing, a total of 12 mitotypes of A. mellifera “C” lineage were observed, of which only one mitotype, C13, had been reported previously.

In 2008 the COLOSS network was formed by honey bee experts from Europe and the USA. The primary objectives set by this scientific network were to explain and to prevent large scale losses of honey bee (Apis mellifera) colonies. In June 2008 COLOSS obtained four years support from the European Union from COST and was designated as COST Action FA0803–COLOSS (Prevention of honey bee COlony LOSSes).

Summary In 2008 the COLOSS network was formed by honey bee experts from Europe and the USA. The primary objectives set by this scientific network were to explain and to prevent large scale losses of honey bee (Apis mellifera) colonies. In June 2008 COLOSS obtained four years support from the European Union from COST and was designated as COST Action FA0803–COLOSS (Prevention of honey bee COlony

Abstract DNA sequencing analysis of the mitochondrial DNA cytochrome oxidase II (COII) region was used to examine genetic variation in the termite genus Reticulitermes Holmgren. We examined 21 species and subspecies from three continents. Sequencing of a 677-bp region of a 780-bp amplicon from 41 individuals and from 17 sequences obtained from GenBank revealed 221 polymorphic sites within the genus.

Abstract Nearly 70% of the world's mountain ungulate taxa are endangered. The availability of a standard set of DNA markers for forensic and molecular ecology studies would help to establish conservation programs and detect poaching activities of these endangered taxa. We tested 60 published microsatellite primer pairs from bovids (cattle, sheep and goat) on 49 individuals from 11 taxa including six wild goat-like species (Capra spp.), three divergent wild sheep (Ovis spp.), and two chamois (Rupicapra spp.) species.

The prevalence of mutations in the precore and core promoter regions of hepatitis B virus DNA and the association with the hepatitis B e antigen-negative phenotype vary in different geographical areas. It is rather high especially in the Far East and Mediterranean countries. The mutations occurring in the precore and the minimal essential region of the core promoter of HBV-DNA were analyzed in the sera of 81 patients (HBeAg-positive, 47 patients; HBeAg-negative, 34 patients) with chronic hepatitis B virus infection by direct sequencing of amplified polymerase chain reaction products. All patients had thymine at nucleotide 1858. Seven of 47 HBeAg-positive patients (15%) and 29 of 34 HBeAg-negative patients (85%) had precore stop codon mutations (G to A change at nucleotide 1896). No nucleotide change was found in the minimal essential region of HBV core promoter in any patient studied. In conclusion, the hepatitis B e antigen-negative phenotype in Turkish patients with chronic hepatitis B is associated with mutations in the precore but not in the minimal essential region of the core promoter. These results representing a part of the eastern Mediterranean support the studies conducted for the other populations of the region.