Combining a biotin-enrichment protocol and 454GS-FLX titanium pyrosequencing technology, we characterised 22 polymorphic microsatellite loci from the parasitic wasp, Habrobracon hebetor (Say) (Hymenoptera: Braconidae), a cosmopolitan species commonly used in biological control against a wide range of both major lepidopterous pests of stored products and field crops in different parts of the world. Three multiplex PCR sets were optimised and characterised across 46 H. hebetor specimens from two samples collected from millet fields in Niger. Two to 11 alleles were found per locus and observed heterozygosity ranged from 0.289 to 0.826. Polymorphism was detected in both samples with a similar level of observed heterozygosity (0.482 vs. 0.502) and number of alleles (4.1 vs. 3.6). Deviation from Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium was detected at the same five loci in both samples and five or seven more loci in each sample but was not associated with heterozygote deficiencies. Even though evidence for linkage disequilibrium was found between a few alleles, these new loci segregated independently. The variability of the 22 loci will enable estimates of genetic diversity and structure patterns, as well as gene flow between H. hebetor populations at different spatial scales. Cross-species amplifications were successful among the six Bracon spp. tested and nine loci will be particularly appropriate for population genetic studies in B. brevicornis., Madougou Garba, Anne Loiseau, Laure Benoit, Nathalie Gauthier., and Obsahuje bibliografii
Polymorphic microsatellite loci were characterised for two louse species, the anopluran Polyplax serrata Burmeister, 1839, parasitising Eurasian field mice of the genus Apodemus Kaup, and the amblyceran Myrsidea nesomimi Palma et Price, 2010, found on mocking birds endemic to the Galápagos Islands. Evolutionary histories of the two parasites show complex patterns influenced both by their geographic distribution and through coevolution with their respective hosts, which renders them prospective evolutionary models. In P. serrata, 16 polymorphic loci were characterised and screened across 72 individuals from four European populations that belong to two sympatric mitochondrial lineages differing in their breadth of host-specificity. In M. nesomimi, 66 individuals from three island populations and two host species were genotyped for 15 polymorphic loci. The observed heterozygosity varied from 0.05 to 0.9 in P. serrata and from 0.0 to 0.96 in M. nesomimi. Deviations from the Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium were frequently observed in the populations of both parasites. Fst distances between tested populations correspond with previous phylogenetic data, suggesting the microsatellite loci are an informative resource for ecological and evolutionary studies of the two parasites., Jana Martinů, Veronika Roubová, Milena Nováková, Vincent S. Smith, Václav Hypša, Jan Štefka., and Obsahuje bibliografii
A novel panel of 16 microsatellite markers, obtained by pyrosequencing of enriched genomic libraries, is reported for the flightless European bushcricket Ephippiger diurnus (Dufour) (Orthoptera: Tettigoniidae). Five multiplex and one simplex PCR protocols were optimized, and the polymorphism at the 16 loci was assessed in two natural populations from southern France. The mean allele number and (expected mean heterozygosity) were 8.94 (0.71) and 6.57 (0.70), respectively, in each population. Several loci were at Hardy-Weinberg disequilibrium (HWD), possibly due to the incidence of null alleles. The occurrence of null alleles has been previously reported for this species, and it is a common feature of microsatellite loci in Orthoptera. Cross-amplification tests demonstrated the transferability of some of these loci to other ephippigerine species. The microsatellite loci reported here substantially increase the number of available loci for this species and will afford an accurate picture of E. diurnus phylogeography, the genetic structure of its populations, and an improved understanding of the evolution of male song and other sexually-selected traits in this highly variable species., Yareli Esquer-Garrigos, Michael D. Greenfield, Virginie Party, Réjane Streiff., and Obsahuje bibliografii
Many factors contribute to the 'invasive potential' of species or populations. It has been suggested that the rate of genetic evolution of a species and the amount of genetic diversity upon which selection can act may play a role in invasiveness. In this study, we examine whether invasive species have a higher relative pace of molecular evolution as compared with closely related non-invasive species, as well as examine the genetic diversity between invasive and closely related species. To do this, we used mitochondrial cytochrome c oxidase subunit I sequences of 35 species with a European native range that are invasive in North America. Unique to molecular rate studies, we permuted across sequences when comparing each invasive species with its sister clade species, incorporating a range of recorded genetic variation within species using 405,765 total combinations of invasive, sister, and outgroup sequences. We observed no significant trend in relative molecular rates between invasive and non-invasive sister clade species, nor in intraspecific genetic diversity, suggesting that differences in invasive status between closely related lineages are not strongly determined by the relative overall pace of genetic evolution or molecular genetic diversity. We support previous observations of more often higher genetic diversity in native than invaded ranges using available data for this genetic region.