AFLP variation in populations of Podisus maculiventris

We are developing methods to reduce costs of mass producing beneficial insect species for biological control programs. One of our methods entails selecting beneficials for optimal production traits. Currently we are selecting for increased fecundity. Selection protocols, whether based on phenotypes or genetic markers, are based on the assumption of considerable genetic variation within domesticated and wild populations. We used AFLP protocols to test the assumption of genetic variation in a domesticated population of the predatory stink bug, Podisus maculiventris. Our results indicated a low, statistically significant, level of genetic variation in a P. maculiventris population after over 130 generations of domestication. Genetic variation within wild-caught populations is now under investigation. Two points of significance of this research are (1) documenting genetic variation within and between natural populations, and (2) identification of molecular markers for elevated fecundity in this species. More broadly, our approach can be used to improve other production traits, such as developmental rate, shelf-life and sex ratios in P. maculiventris and in other beneficial insect species.