Abstract
The stink bug, Megacopta cribraria, has an obligate relationship with a bacterial endosymbiont which allows it to feed on legumes. The insect is a pest of soybeans in Asia and was first reported in the Western Hemisphere in October 2009 on kudzu vine, Pueraria montana, in North Georgia, USA. By October 2010 M. cribraria had been confirmed in 80 counties in Georgia actively feeding on kudzu vine and soybean plants. Since the symbiosis may support the bug's ecological expansions, a population genetic baseline for the symbiosis was developed from mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) and nuclear DNA (nuDNA) gene sequence collected from each insect and its primary γ- proteobacterium and secondary α -proteobacterium endosymbionts. A single mitochondrial DNA haplotype was found in all insects sampled in Georgia and South Carolina identified as GA1. The GAI haplotype appears to be rapidly dispersing across Georgia and into contiguous states. Primary and secondary endosymbiont gene sequences from M. cribraria in Georgia were the same as those found in recently collected Megacopta samples from Japan. The implications of these data are discussed.
Highlights
Genetic impacts related to insect invasions such as horizontal gene transfer and interspecific hybridization have generally not been the emphasis of invasive biological study [1]
The 2336 bp mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) fragment which was sequenced from 83 individuals collected randomly from 36 counties in Georgia and two counties in South Carolina was the same for all individuals
The sequence data shows that only one female mitochondrial lineage, GA1 (HQ444175; JF288758), was introduced into Georgia and is rapidly dispersing throughout the state and into contiguous states
Summary
Genetic impacts related to insect invasions such as horizontal gene transfer and interspecific hybridization have generally not been the emphasis of invasive biological study [1]. These phenomena are of some concern because of the impacts they could have on native insect genetic ecologies that directly affect urban and traditional agriculture. Insights into genetic impacts are in turn dependent on knowledge of the genetic baseline for an invasive species. The first genetic characterization of the bug and its obligate endosymbiont on which its fitness depends [3] is reported and discussed
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