Enrico A. Ruiz, enrico_ruiz@yahoo.com1, John E. Rinehart, jrinehar@snake.eou.edu2, Jane L. Hayes, jlhayes@fs.fed.us3, and Gerardo Zúñiga, gzuniga_1960@yahoo.com1. (1) Instituto Politecnico Nacional, Departamento de Zoologia, Carpio y Plan de Ayala s/n, Col. Casco de Santo Tomas, Delegacion Miguel Hidalgo, Ciudad de Mexico, Mexico, (2) Eastern Oregon University, 1 University Boulevard, LaGrande, OR, (3) USDA Forest Service, PNW Research Station, Forestry and Range Sciences Lab, 1401 Gekeler Lane, La Grande, OR
Genetic population structure of Dendroctonus pseudotsugae along its distribution range was assessed using RAPD and mtDNA COI sequences.
This bark beetle can be found on Douglas-Fir forest from northern Mexico, western USA and southwestern Canada. Over 166 samples from 15 different populations, 232 RAPD markers (7 primers) and 50 haplotypes (among 151 sequences of COI gene, 579bp long) were obtained. The results showed that heterozygosity of D. pseudotsugae is high if compared with other insect species, and paired genetic distances are at the upper limit of genetic distances described for other Scolytids. Mean genetic distances in D. pseudotsugae are between those described for local populations and subspecies level, indicating a weak but consistent differentiation between USA and Canadian populations and those from Mexico. Lastly, F statistics, and low gene flow values suggest that the genetic structure of D. pseudotsugae is strongly influenced by geographic distance. Thus, isolation by distance is a main source of genetic differentiation among populations of this species.
Species 1: Coleoptera Curculionidae
Dendroctonus pseudotsugae (Douglas-fir beetle)
Keywords: Molecular markers
