The Northern pine processionary moth, Thaumetopoea pinivora (Treitschke, 1834) shows a highly scattered distribution with fragmented populations across Europe. A previous study exploring the postglacial history of T. pinivora defined it as a cold-tolerant relict species and concluded that a progressive reduction of suitable habitats after the postglacial expansion from refugia in the southern Iberian peninsula best explained the distribution and genetic structure of populations of this species. However, recent records, both by us and others, challenge this view. Surprisingly, some of the newly found populations from southern Spain use black pine, Pinus nigra J.F. Arnold as a host plant despite the fact that the typical host of the species, Scots pine, Pinus sylvestris L. occurs in the area. We provide genetic data for one of these recently found southern populations where the larvae feed on P. nigra, and compare this with previously published data on individuals collected on P. sylvestris. This data reveals that populations from different host trees are no more genetically differentiated than populations sharing the same host plant. The findings of a wider diet breadth open the way to widen the search for the still unidentified glacial refugium of T. pinivora, and as such may contribute to a better understanding about how the species has spread across Europe., José A. Hódar, Anna Cassel-Lundhagen, Andrea Battisti, Stig Larsson., and Obsahuje bibliografii
The utility of inter simple sequence repeat-PCR (ISSR-PCR) assay in the genetic characterisation and elucidation of the phylogenetic relationship of different microsporidian isolates infecting tropical tasar silkworm, Antheraea mylitta Drury, is demonstrated. A total of 22 different microsporidians collected from the diseased tasar silkworms from Jharkhand state of India were analysed using morphological characters and ISSR-PCR. Observations spores under phase contrast microscope revealed oval to elongate in shape with length ranging from 3.8 μm to 5.1 μm and width from 2.6 μm to 3.3 μm. All the microsporidian isolates except MIJ-1gC showed gonadal infection and transovarial transmission in infected tasar silkworms. Fourteen out of 20 ISSR primers tested generated reproducible profiles and yielded a total of 281 fragments, of which 273 were polymorphic (97%). The degree of banding pattern was used to evaluate genetic distances and for phylogenetic analysis. The results demonstrated that ISSR analysis may be a useful and efficient tool for taxonomical grouping and phylogenetic classification of different microsporidians in general., Wazid Hassan, B. Surendra Nath., and Obsahuje bibliografii
In this study, we report the development of a set of 15 polymorphic microsatellite markers for the box tree moth, Cydalima perspectalis (Walker), a highly invasive insect in Europe causing significant damage to natural and ornamental Buxus trees. The markers were characterized for four distant populations in both its native (China, two populations) and invasive ranges (Czech Republic and Turkey, one population each). The number of alleles ranged from 2 to 12. No marker significantly deviated from the Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium for all the populations sampled. These microsatellite markers are promising tools for further studies on the invasive pathways and dispersal pattern of the box tree moth in Europe., Audrey Bras, Laure Sauné, Alain Roques, Jérôme Rousselet, Marie-Anne Auger-Rozenberg., and Obsahuje bibliografii
Here we describe 16 novel microsatellite loci in the genome of the dragonhead sap beetle Thymogethes norvegicus, which were identified using a next-generation sequencing approach. In 40 dragonhead sap beetles from a population in southern Norway, we found 2-4 alleles per locus. Expected heterozygosity ranged from 0.18-0.65. Three of the loci showed significant deviation from Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium. After correcting for multiple tests, one pairwise locus combination displayed significant linkage disequilibrium. These novel microsatellite loci will be useful for future population structure, genetic diversity and conservation genetic studies of the dragonhead sap beetle., Oddmund Kleven, Anders Endrestøl., and Obsahuje bibliografii