Pioneer study of population genetics of Rhodnius ecuadoriensis (Hemiptera: Reduviidae) from the central coastand southern Andean regions of Ecuador

Villacís, Anita G.; Marcet, Paula L.; Yumiseva, César A.; Dotson, Ellen M.; Tibayrenc, Michel; Brenière, Simone Frédérique; Grijalva, Mario J.

doi:10.1016/j.meegid.2017.05.019

Cited by 17 publications

(16 citation statements)

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“…Morphometric and genetic studies of R . ecuadoriensis in Ecuador would also predict a similar pattern of diversification [ 73 , 74 ]. However, inter-population diversification in Loja might be happening [ 74 ] at a rate undetectable by coarse test for isolation-by-distance and other conventional population analysis techniques.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…ecuadoriensis in Ecuador would also predict a similar pattern of diversification [ 73 , 74 ]. However, inter-population diversification in Loja might be happening [ 74 ] at a rate undetectable by coarse test for isolation-by-distance and other conventional population analysis techniques. Our genomic information coupled with a landscape genetics/genomics framework could test whether landscape heterogeneity and environmental variables are driving such processes [ 64 ].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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2b-RAD genotyping for population genomic studies of Chagas disease vectors: Rhodnius ecuadoriensis in Ecuador

et al. 2017

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BackgroundRhodnius ecuadoriensis is the main triatomine vector of Chagas disease, American trypanosomiasis, in Southern Ecuador and Northern Peru. Genomic approaches and next generation sequencing technologies have become powerful tools for investigating population diversity and structure which is a key consideration for vector control. Here we assess the effectiveness of three different 2b restriction site-associated DNA (2b-RAD) genotyping strategies in R. ecuadoriensis to provide sufficient genomic resolution to tease apart microevolutionary processes and undertake some pilot population genomic analyses.Methodology/Principal findingsThe 2b-RAD protocol was carried out in-house at a non-specialized laboratory using 20 R. ecuadoriensis adults collected from the central coast and southern Andean region of Ecuador, from June 2006 to July 2013. 2b-RAD sequencing data was performed on an Illumina MiSeq instrument and analyzed with the STACKS de novo pipeline for loci assembly and Single Nucleotide Polymorphism (SNP) discovery. Preliminary population genomic analyses (global AMOVA and Bayesian clustering) were implemented. Our results showed that the 2b-RAD genotyping protocol is effective for R. ecuadoriensis and likely for other triatomine species. However, only BcgI and CspCI restriction enzymes provided a number of markers suitable for population genomic analysis at the read depth we generated. Our preliminary genomic analyses detected a signal of genetic structuring across the study area.Conclusions/SignificanceOur findings suggest that 2b-RAD genotyping is both a cost effective and methodologically simple approach for generating high resolution genomic data for Chagas disease vectors with the power to distinguish between different vector populations at epidemiologically relevant scales. As such, 2b-RAD represents a powerful tool in the hands of medical entomologists with limited access to specialized molecular biological equipment.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

2b-RAD genotyping for population genomic studies of Chagas disease vectors: Rhodnius ecuadoriensis in Ecuador

et al. 2017

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“…We note that the R. ecuadoriensis cytb sequences studied by Villacis et al [67,68] are not available in NCBI's GenBank or in EMBL-EBI's European Nucleotide Archive (ENA).…”

Section: Molecular Analysesmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Below we argue that local adaptation to distinct microhabitats is probably the key driver underpinning this remarkable example of population-level phenotypic diversity. (Fig 7) and by limited microsatellite [67] and 2b-RAD genotyping data [75]. Triatomines are blood-sucking bugs that live in sheltered microhabitats with a more-orless stable food supply [1,2,27].…”

Section: Molecular Analyses 3 -Species Trees and Bayesian Hypothesis mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…We reasoned that the broad ecological flexibility of R. ecuadoriensis was likely to correlate with similarly broad intraspecific variation, and set to examine the signs of diversification and adaptation in this locally important vector species. To address both macro-scale diversity and micro-scale adaptations, we analyzed mitochondrial and nuclear DNA markers that have proven useful in similar study-systems [5][6][7][8][9]11,12,[15][16][17]19,[67][68][69][70][76][77][78][79][80] and undertook a detailed qualitative/quantitative phenotypic assessment including head and forewing morphometrics [22,45,[47][48][49]81]; we then used rich, specimen-specific ecological metadata to guide the interpretation of results. We nevertheless note that our results are based on a relatively limited (albeit overall well representative) sample of geographic-ecological populations and on just two genetic loci (albeit two that are known to be informative for problems similar to the one we tackled).…”

Section: Molecular Analyses 3 -Species Trees and Bayesian Hypothesis mentioning

confidence: 99%

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Under pressure: phenotypic divergence and convergence associated with microhabitat adaptations in Triatominae

Abad‐Franch

Monteiro

Pavan

et al. 2020

Preprint

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BackgroundTriatomine bugs, the vectors of Chagas disease, associate with vertebrate hosts in highly diverse ecotopes. When these blood-sucking bugs adapt to new microhabitats, their phenotypes may change. Although understanding phenotypic variation is key to the study of adaptive evolution and central to phenotype-based taxonomy, the drivers of phenotypic change and diversity in triatomines remain poorly understood.Methods/FindingsWe combined a detailed phenotypic appraisal (including morphology and morphometrics) with mitochondrial cytb and nuclear ITS2 DNA-sequence analyses to study Rhodnius ecuadoriensis populations from across the species’ range. We found three major, naked-eye phenotypic variants. Southern-Andean bugs (SW Ecuador/NW Peru) from house and vertebrate-nest microhabitats are typical, light-colored, small bugs with short heads/wings. Northern-Andean bugs (W Ecuador wet-forest palms) are dark, large bugs with long heads/wings. Finally, northern-lowland bugs (coastal Ecuador dry-forest palms) are light-colored and medium-sized. Wing and (size-free) head shapes are similar across Ecuadorian populations, regardless of habitat or naked-eye phenotype, but distinct in Peruvian bugs. Bayesian phylogenetic and multispecies-coalescent DNA-sequence analyses strongly suggest that Ecuadorian and Peruvian populations are two independently-evolving lineages, with little within-lineage structuring/differentiation.ConclusionsWe report sharp naked-eye phenotypic divergence of genetically similar Ecuadorian R. ecuadoriensis (house/nest southern-Andean vs. palm-dwelling northern bugs; and palm-dwelling Andean vs. lowland); and sharp naked-eye phenotypic similarity of typical, yet genetically distinct, southern-Andean bugs from house and nest (but not palm) microhabitats (SW Ecuador vs. NW Peru). This remarkable phenotypic diversity within a single nominal species likely stems from microhabitat adaptations possibly involving predator-driven selective pressure (yielding substrate-matching camouflage coloration) and a shift from palm-crown to vertebrate-nest microhabitats (yielding smaller bodies and shorter heads and wings). These findings shed new light on the origins of phenotypic diversity in triatomines, warn against excess reliance on phenotype-based triatomine-bug taxonomy, and confirm the Triatominae as an informative model-system for the study of phenotypic change under ecological pressure.Author summaryTriatomine bugs feed on the blood of vertebrates including humans and transmit the parasite that causes Chagas disease. The bugs, of which 150+ species are known, are highly diverse in size, shape, and color. Some species look so similar that they are commonly confused, whereas a few same-species populations look so different that they were thought to be separate species. Despite the crucial role of naked-eye phenotypes in triatomine-bug identification and classification (which are essential for vector control-surveillance), the origins of this variation remain unclear. Here, we describe a striking case of phenotypic divergence, with genetically similar bugs looking very different from one another, and phenotypic convergence, with bugs from two genetically distinct populations (likely on their way to speciation) looking very similar – and all within a single nominal species, Rhodnius ecuadoriensis. Phenotypically divergent populations occupy different ecological regions (wet vs. dry) and microhabitats (palm-crowns vs. vertebrate nests), whereas convergent populations occupy man-made and nest (but not palm) microhabitats. These findings suggest that triatomines can ‘respond’ to ecological novelty by changing their external, naked-eye phenotypes as they adapt to new microhabitats. We therefore warn that phenotypic traits such as overall size or color may confound triatomine-bug species identification and classification.

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Chromosome Structure and Evolution of Triatominae: A Review

Panzera

Pita

Lorite

2021

Entomology in Focus

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Pioneer study of population genetics of Rhodnius ecuadoriensis (Hemiptera: Reduviidae) from the central coastand southern Andean regions of Ecuador

Cited by 17 publications

References 52 publications

2b-RAD genotyping for population genomic studies of Chagas disease vectors: Rhodnius ecuadoriensis in Ecuador

2b-RAD genotyping for population genomic studies of Chagas disease vectors: Rhodnius ecuadoriensis in Ecuador

Under pressure: phenotypic divergence and convergence associated with microhabitat adaptations in Triatominae

Chromosome Structure and Evolution of Triatominae: A Review

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