Sex chromosome pre-reduction in male meiosis of Lethocerus patruelis (Stål, 1854) (Heteroptera, Belostomatidae) with some notes on the distribution of the species

Snejana Grozeva,Nikolay Simov,Valentina Kuznetsova,Svetla Dalakchieva,Mario Langourov

doi:10.3897/zookeys.319.4384

Snejana Grozeva, Nikolay Simov + Show 3 more

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https://doi.org/10.3897/zookeys.319.4384

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Abstract

The karyotype and meiosis in males of giant water bug Lethocerus patruelis (Heteroptera: Belostomatidae: Lethocerinae) were studied using standard and fluorochrome (CMA3 and DAPI) staining of chromosomes. The species was shown to have 2n = 22A + 2m + XY where 2m are a pair of microchromosomes. NORs are located in X and Y chromosomes. Within Belostomatidae, Lethocerus patruelis is unique in showing sex chromosome pre-reduction in male meiosis, with the sex chromosomes undergoing reductional division at anaphase I and equational division at anaphase II. Cytogenetic data on the family Belostomatidae are summarized and compared. In addition, the structure of the male internal reproductive organs of Lethocerus patruelis is presented, the contemporary distribution of Lethocerus patruelis in Bulgaria and in the northern Aegean Islands is discussed, and the first information about the breeding and nymphal development of this species in Bulgaria is provided.

Highlights

The genus Lethocerus Mayr, 1853 is a member of the family Belostomatidae, the subfamily Lethocerinae (Perez Goodwin 2006)
Within Belostomatidae, L. patruelis is unique in showing sex chromosome pre-reduction in male meiosis, with the sex chromosomes undergoing reductional division at anaphase I and equational division at anaphase II
We studied for the first time the structure of the internal reproductive organs, karyotype and meiosis in males of Lethocerus patruelis (Stål, 1854)

Summary

Introduction

The genus Lethocerus Mayr, 1853 is a member of the family Belostomatidae (electric light bugs, toe biters), the subfamily Lethocerinae (Perez Goodwin 2006). The information on the karyotypes of the genus Lethocerus has been recently summarized by Bardella et al (2012). In Lethocerus species, chromosome numbers vary from 2n = 4 to 2n = ca. As is common in Belostomatidae and in Heteroptera as a whole, all so far studied species of Lethocerus have been shown to have an inverted meiosis for the sex chromosomes in males (the so-called “sex chromosome post-reduction”) with the sex chromosomes undergoing equational separation during the first division while reductional segregation during the second division (Ueshima 1979, Papeschi and Bressa 2006, Bardella et al 2012)

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