A1 Refereed original research article in a scientific journal
Genetic Differentiation of Bisexual and Parthenogenetic Populations of Plant Louse Cacopsylla ledi (Hemiptera, Psylloidea)
Authors: Shapoval, Nazar A.; Nokkala, Seppo; Nokkala, Christina; Shapoval, Galina N.; Labina, Eugenia S.; Romanovich, Anna E.; Kuznetsova, Valentina G.
Publisher: MDPI AG
Publication year: 2025
Journal: Insects
Volume: 16
First page : 1268
eISSN: 2075-4450
DOI: https://doi.org/10.3390/insects16121268
Publication's open availability at the time of reporting: Open Access
Publication channel's open availability : Open Access publication channel
Web address : https://www.mdpi.com/2075-4450/16/12/1268
Self-archived copy’s web address: https://research.utu.fi/converis/portal/detail/Publication/506455913
The psyllid genus Cacopsylla comprises mainly bisexually reproducing species; however, some members of this genus exhibit a unisexual mode of reproduction. Using an integrative approach that combines molecular and cytogenetic methods, as well as Wolbachia screening, we conducted a comprehensive study of the Palaearctic species C. ledi. We show that this species uses various reproductive strategies (bisexual and parthenogenetic) across its distribution range. Our findings indicate that the bisexual mode of reproduction has emerged at least twice in the evolutionary history of C. ledi. Bisexual populations in southern Fennoscandia are of ancestral origin, whereas the bisexual mode of reproduction observed in northern Fennoscandia represents a recent secondary transition from parthenogenesis. We report that in the first case, parthenogenetic and bisexual lineages can be easily distinguished not only cytogenetically but also by DNA barcoding, while in the second case, “bisexual” individuals share DNA barcodes with parthenogenetic ones. A comprehensive Wolbachia screening (1140 specimens across the entire distribution range) revealed Wolbachia infection in every specimen of C. ledi, indicating a significant role of the endosymbiont in the biology and evolution of this species.
Downloadable publication This is an electronic reprint of the original article. |
Funding information in the publication:
The study was carried out with the support of the state research project No. 125012901042-9, the state assignment of the Ministry of Science and Higher Education of the Russian Federation (project FZMW-2023-0006) and the Finnish Cultural Foundation (Varsinais-Suomi Regional Fund), the Betty Väänänen Foundation.