Sexual reproduction in the white pine weevil (Pissodes strobi [Peck] [Coleoptera: Curculionidae]): implications for population genetic diversity.
Controlled mating experiments in the white pine weevil (Pissodes strobi [Peck]) indicated that female weevils either stored sperm or fertilized eggs from one season to the next, and were able to colonize Sitka spruce (Picea sitchensis [Bong.] Carr.) trees without additional mating events. This was interpreted as being beneficial for the insect, in that population establishment in a new habitat could be initiated by dispersing previously mated females without participation of the male. This makes colonization and population/outbreak development more likely as it reduces the need for mate searching in the second season. Paternity identification, based on microsatellite molecular markers, established that the progeny produced in year 2 by females mated only in year 1, were often fathered by more than one male. Multiple paternity, coupled with a lack of parthenogenesis, which was also demonstrated herein, may help to account for the high degree of genetic diversity evidenced in this species.
Northern Forestry Center, Canadian Forest Service, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada.
K G
KG
Lewis
C
C
Liewlaksaneeyanawin
R I
RI
Alfaro
C
C
Ritland
K
K
Ritland
Y A
YA
El-Kassaby
D000818:Animals; D001517:Coleoptera / Q000235:genetics* / Q000502:physiology; D032462:Cycadopsida; D005260:Female; D005306:Fertilization; D014644:Genetic Variation; D008297:Male; D010063:Ovum / Q000502:physiology; D012098:Reproduction; D012621:Seasons; D013094:Spermatozoa / Q000502:physiology; D014197:Trees