eproductive Patterns Drive the Gene Flow and Spatial Dispersal of Euschistus heros (Hemiptera: Pentatomidae

Author(s)

Hickmann, Frederico ^[1] ; Cordeiro, Erick Goes ^[1] ; Soares, Patricia Lima ^[1] ; Aurelio, Mateus Souza L. ^[1] ; Schwertner, Cristiano Feldens ^[2] ; Correa, Alberto Soares ^[1]

Affiliation

^[1] Univ Sao Paulo, Luiz de Queiroz Coll Agr USP ESALQ, Dept Entomol & Acarol, BR-13418900 Piracicaba, SP - Brazil

^[2] Univ Fed Sao Paulo, Dept Ecol & Evolutionary Biol, Grad Program Ecol & Evolut, BR-09972270 Diadema, SP - Brazil

• Document type: Journal article
• Source: Journal of Economic Entomology; v. 114, n. 6, p. 2346-2354, DEC 2021.
• Web of Science Citations: 0

Abstract

Euschistus heros (Hemiptera: Pentatomidae) has two allopatric strains with a hybrid zone in central Brazil. Asymmetric dispersal and gene flow between these strains of E. heros have been observed, where the South strain (SS) moves more quickly to the northern regions of the country than the North strain (NS) to the southern areas. In addition, SS generally has a bigger body size and presents dark brown coloration, and NS is usually smaller in size and presents light brown coloration. Here, we studied the reproductive behavior and tested for the presence of assortative mating and reproductive barriers between the two allopatric strains of E. heros. Nonrandom mating was observed in the SS strain based on mating choice trials and the reproductive isolation indexes. SS females and males prefer to mate with their co-specific (same strain) partner, while NS insects showed no mating preference. The insect's pronotum width was positively associated with the mating choice suggesting size-assortative mating in E. heros. Reciprocal crosses between strains yielded similar reproductive outputs when compared with pure strain crosses, suggesting similar fitness of hybrid pure strains. The asymmetric gene flow in the hybridization zone that favors SS seems to be associated with the reproductive behavior of the species, which favors the typical phenotype found in the SS populations. (AU)

• FAPESP's process: 14/11495-3 - A demographic and adaptive approach for the development of sustainable management strategies of pest control to the Brazilian agroecosystem
• Grantee: Alberto Soares Corrêa
• Support Opportunities: Research Grants - Young Investigators Grants
• FAPESP's process: 14/50871-0 - INCT 2014: National Institute of Science and Technology of Semiochemicals in Agriculture
• Grantee: José Roberto Postali Parra
• Support Opportunities: Research Projects - Thematic Grants
• FAPESP's process: 18/20351-6 - Dormancy and host adaptation of two allopatric lineages of Euschistus heros (Hemiptera: Pentatomidae)
• Grantee: Frederico Hickmann
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Doctorate