This paper presents a novel approach of population genetics together with environmental and biogeographic data leading to inferences for ecological niche modelling. We used hierarchical lineages obtained using the nested cladistic analysis (NCA) of the mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) haplotypes of the bark beetle species Tomicus destruens, for modelling the distribution by maximum entropy using environmental and host variables along the whole Mediterranean Basin. The identity and similarity tests were checked in the intraspecific lineages (NCA clades and haplotypes) in order to determine a shift or conservatism niche between them. Also, four indices from nine geographical areas in the Mediterranean Basin were calculated to assess the variability of environmental factors shaping the distribution of haplotype diversity on a large geographic scale. The ecological models developed indicate that minority eastern mtDNA lineages of T. destruens differ in their potential ecological niche according to their relation to extreme climatic variables. By contrast, the most widespread western lineages display a close relationship with their Pinus host tree. Also, higher levels of exclusive and endemic haplotypes were predicted in areas with high temperature variability in the Mediterranean wet period. The eastern group niche seems to be included in part of the range of the ecological space of the two major western clades. This result suggests that a niche shift might have started, being still an early relationship with its host tree Pinus brutia. Alternatively, the temperature variability in the wettest period appears to be related to a high proportion of endemic haplotypes of T. destruens, possibly by involving a balance between the length of the flight reproductive period of T. destruens and the status of the host tree vigour and growth stage. This study illustrates a good example of the benefits that ecological niche modelling provides to understand population genetic and phylogeographic patterns.

MACHADO V., RODRÍGUEZ-GARCÍA M.J., SÁNCHEZ-GARCÍA F.J., GALIÁN J. 2014. RNA interference: a new strategy in the evolutionary arms race between human control strategies and insect pests. Folia Biologica (Kraków) $ : 335-343. The relationship between humans and the insect pests of cultivated plants may be considered to be an indirect coevolutionary process, i.e., an arms race. Over time, humans have developed several strategies to minimize the negative impacts of insects on agricultural production. However, insects have made adaptive responses via the evolution of resistance to insecticides, and more recently against Bacillus thuriengiensis. Thus, we need to continuously invest resources in the development of new strategies for crop protection. Recent advances in genomics have demonstrated the possibility of a new weapon or strategy in this war, i.e., gene silencing, which involves blocking the expression of specific genes via mRNA inactivation.In the last decade, several studies have demonstrated the effectiveness of this strategy in the control of different species of insects. However, several technical difficulties need to be overcome to transform this potential into reality, such as the selection of target genes, the concentration of dsRNA, the nucleotide sequence of the dsRNA, the length of dsRNA, persistence in the insect body, and the life stage of the target species where gene silencing is most efficient. This study analyzes several aspects related to the use of gene silencing in pest control and it includes an overview of the inactivation process, as well as the problems that need to be resolved to transform gene silencing into an effective pest control method.

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Describing and conserving ecological interactions woven into ecosystems is one of the great challenges of the 21st century. Here, we present a unique dataset compiling the biotic interactions between two ecologically and economically important taxa: ground beetles (Coleoptera: Carabidae) and fungi. The resulting dataset contains the carabid-fungus associations collected from 392 scientific publications, 129 countries, mostly from the Palearctic region, published over a period of 200 years. With an updated taxonomy to match the currently accepted nomenclature, 3,378 unique associations among 5,564 records were identified between 1,776 carabid and 676 fungal taxa. Ectoparasitic Laboulbeniales were the most frequent fungal group associated with carabids, especially with Trechinae. The proportion of entomopathogens was low. Three different formats of the data have been provided along with an interactive data digest platform for analytical purposes. Our database summarizes the current knowledge on biotic interactions between insects and fungi, while offering a valuable resource to test large-scale hypotheses on those interactions.