Genetic differentiation in the winter pine processionary moth (Thaumetopoea pityocampa — wilkinsoni complex), inferred by AFLP and mitochondrial DNA markers

Abstract

The winter pine processionary moth has become an important pine pest in the last century, as a consequence of the spread of pine cultivation in the Mediterranean region. The pattern of genetic differentiation of this group, that includes two sibling species (Thaumetopoea pityocampa and Th. wilkinsoni), has been studied in nine populations using amplified fragment length polymorphism (AFLP) and single strand conformation polymorphism-sequence analysis (SSCP) of the mitochondrial cytochrome oxidase 1 (COI) and cytochrome oxydase 2 (COII). Results indicate the existence of strong genetic differentiation between the two species that became separated before the Quaternary ice ages. Moreover data indicate that Th. pityocampa has a strong geographical structure, particularly evident at the nuclear level, where all pairwise phiST resulted to be highly significant and individuals from the same population resulted to be strongly clustered when an individual tree was reconstructed. The estimates of the absolute number of migrants between populations (Nm), obtained from mitochondrial and nuclear DNA markers, suggest that gene flow is low and that a gender-related dispersal could occur in this species. The males appear to disperse more than females, contributing to the genetic diversity of populations on a relatively wide range, reducing the risks of inbreeding and the genetic loss associated with bottlenecks occurring in isolated populations.

Genetic diversity, population structure and taxonomy of Calopteryx splendens (Odonata: Calopterygidae): An AFLP analysis

“…It is also larger than that reported by Chaput-Bardy et al (2008) for populations about 500 km apart, whereas our study encompassed the entire width of the geographic range of the species. Compared with other groups of insects, our results are similar to st values for winter pine moth in the Mediterranean region (Salvato et al, 2002), which ranges from 0.243 to 0.480, but higher than in tephritid flies (Urophora cardui) (0.096 to 0.161) (Eber & Brandl, 1997) and caddisflies (Plectrocnemia conspersa) in Europe (0.1260) (Wilcock et al, 2003).…”

The aquatic leaf beetle Macroplea mutica (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae) in Europe: Population structure, postglacial colonization and the signature of passive dispersal

“…For the analysis the method of amplified fragment length polymorphism (AFLP; Vos et al, 1995) was chosen because of its proven applicability for insect population genetic studies (McMichael & Prowell, 1999;Parsons & Shaw, 2001;Tan et al, 2001;Miller et al, 2002;Salvato et al, 2002;van der Wurff et al, 2003;Kazachkova et al, 2004) and practical advantages (Vos et al, 1995;Mueller & Wolfenbarger, 1999).…”

Eggmass Structure and Parasitism of Thaumetopoea wilkinsoni (Lepidoptera: Thaumetopoeidae) in Lebanon

“…In a schematic way, T. pityocampa corresponds to the geographic races existing in Mediterranean Europe and North Africa and T. wilkinsoni corresponds to those living in the oriental part of the Mediterranean basin and part of Turkey. However, recent molecular studies indicate the existence of strong genetic differentiation between the two species that became separated before the quaternary ice ages [6][7][8].…”