Features of the Honey Bee Apis Mellifera Genome Versus Fruit Fly Drosophila Melanogaster

The analysis of the nuclear and the mitochondrial genomes of the honey bee Apis mellifera in comparison with the well-annotated, finished fruit fly Drosophila melanogaster genome was presented in this article. The nuclear genome of the honey bee has about 245 millions b.p. which distributed in 16 chromosomes and contains about 10 thousands genes. The mitochondrial genome of the A. mellifera has about 16 thousands b.p. which located in mitochondrion’s and contains 35 genes. The nuclear genome of the fruit fly has about 144 millions b.p. which distributed in 4 chromosomes and contains about 17 thousands genes. The mitochondrial genome of the D. melanogaster has about 19 thousands b.p., which located in mitochondrion’s and contains 37 genes. Despite the full sequencing of the nuclear and the mitochondrial genomes of the A. mellifera the function of several genes and loci of A. mellifera are not disclosed fully. A comparative analysis of the genomes of A. mellifera and D. melanogaster using bioinformatics techniques allowed to reveal the features of the structure and function of the honey bee A. mellifera genome. The genome of A. mellifera have more similarity with the vertebrate genome than D. melanogaster. The genome of A. mellifera contains less genes of the native immunity, of detoxification enzymes, of cuticle proteins and taste receptors compared with D. melanogaster. However, A. mellifera contains new genes associated with olfactory receptors, the processing of pollen and nectar, poison organs, wax glands, caste determination and labor division which absent at D. melanogaster. Probably, this is due to the ecology of bees and their social evolution.