Genetic relationships of introduced Colorado potato beetle Leptinotarsa decemlineata populations in Xinjiang, China

• Published in: Insect science Vol. 20; no. 5; pp. 643 - 654
• Main Authors: Zhang, Jing-Jie, Yang, Juan, Li, Ying-Chao, Liu, Ning, Zhang, Run-Zhi
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Australia Blackwell Publishing Ltd 01-10-2013; Wiley Subscription Services, Inc
• Subjects: Animals; China; Coleoptera - genetics; Colorado potato beetle; Demography; Gene Flow; Genetic Variation; Introduced Species; invasive pest; Leptinotarsa decemlineata; Phylogeny; Solanaceae; Solanum tuberosum; Xinjiang; 中国; 外来入侵物种; 新疆维吾尔自治区; 种群; 科罗拉多; 遗传关系; 遗传多样性; 马铃薯甲虫; genetic variation; invasive pest; Colorado potato beetle; Leptinotarsa decemlineata; China; Xinjiang
• ISSN: 1672-9609; 1744-7917
• DOI: 10.1111/j.1744-7917.2012.01565.x

The Colorado potato beetle （CPB）, Leptinotarsa decemlineata （Say）, is an infamous invasive species worldwide that aggressively attacks potato and other Solanaceae crops. CPB was first found in China in 1993 and has since spread across 2.77 × 105 km2 in Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region. To better understand genetic variation and migration patterns, we used seven polymorphic microsatellite loci to elucidate the genetic relationships and gene flow among 10 CPB populations across Xinjiang. （i） Overall low levels of genetic diversity were detected on the entire population in Xinjiang but most of the diversity was retained among populations during invasion. （ii） The mean pairwise FST was low （0.071 ± 0.043） among populations. The genetic differentiation was little （pairwise FST 0.038 ± 0.016） between the five interior populations （Wusu, Urumqi, Jimsar, Qitai and Mulei） and Tacheng population. The six populations might come from the same genetic group via Bayesian clustering and were closely related on a neighbor-joining tree. Combining the history data, the five interior populations may have originated from Tacheng. （iii） Gene flow was frequent, especially among the five interior populations. Individuals from the interior populations could be assigned to Tacheng at higher probabilities （means 0.518 ± 0.127） than vice versa （means 0.328 ± 0.074）, suggesting that the beetle population has spread from the border to the interior in Xinjiang.