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Abstract
The pollen beetle (Meligethes aeneus) is one of the most important insect pests of oilseed rape (Brassica napus), and extensive use of insecticides is required to protect crop yields. To meet the challenges set by agricultural demands for more sustainable production and changing climate more information about pest biology and population genetics is needed. Using genomic Amplified Fragment Length Polymorphism (AFLP) analysis, DNA polymorphism was studied in 14 field populations of pollen beetles, collected during 2004 in six European countries (Denmark, France, Finland, Germany, Sweden, and UK). Using one primer combination 410 polymorphic DNA fragments were obtained based on analysis of single beetles. AFLP profiles were analysed with similarity measures using the Nei and Li coefficient and dendrograms generated. Dendrograms constructed from distance matrices revealed clustering by population origin and assignment analysis generally supported the genotype classification. Principal component analysis of the fourteen groups resulted in wide dispersion but also connections between some groups. Statistical analysis using AMOVA showed that the levels of genetic variation within populations explained most of the variation. Migrant analysis suggested a low level of gene flow between pollen beetle populations at different geographical locations indicating little long range dispersal of pollen beetles. However, a Mantel test found no correlation between genetic and geographical distance. Apparently genetic differentiation among populations has a complex background and may involve factors such as local adaptation and founder effects.
Highlights
One of the most important insect pests of Brassica oilseed crops in Europe is the pollen beetle, Meligethes aeneus (Fabricius 1775) (Coleoptera: Nitidulidae) (Ekbom, 1995)
We have developed an Amplified Fragment Length Polymorphism (AFLP) protocol for pollen beetles (Kazachkova et al, 2004) that is highly reproducible and generates an appropriate number of DNA fragments for analysis
This study showed a clear genetic divergence among several European populations of pollen beetles as revealed by AFLP markers
Summary
One of the most important insect pests of Brassica oilseed crops in Europe is the pollen beetle, Meligethes aeneus (Fabricius 1775) (Coleoptera: Nitidulidae) (Ekbom, 1995). This beetle is a pest of great economic importance because it destroys flowers and buds thereby reducing seed yields. When temperatures rise to 15°C, adults seek out fields of Brassica oilseed. There they feed on buds and flowers and females lay eggs in flower buds. Pollen beetle incidence on oilseed rape inflorescences is negatively correlated with glucosinolate levels (Giamoustaris & Mithen, 1996), they do not appear to affect their ovipositing on mustard plants (Hopkins et al, 1998)
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