title: Eye colour as a genetic marker for fertility and fecundity of Triatoma infestans (Klug, 1834) Hemiptera, Reduviidae, Triatominae.
abstract: Eye colour of Triatoma infestans is controlled at a single autosomal locus, with black-eye as the dominant gene and red-eye as the recessive. Inheritance of these characters follows a classical Mendelian system, enabling eye colour to be used as a marker for studies of mating frequency. We found no significant differences in oviposition rates and egg hatching rates irrespective of parental phenotypes. Different mating schedules between red-eye and black-eye parents showed that eye colour did not affect mating competence. Females mated with a single male or with different males together or in succession produced similar numbers of fertile eggs, with the eye colour of the offspring reflecting exposure to the different males. We conclude that although a single mating can provide sufficient sperm for the whole reproductive life of the female, multiple matings can result in balanced assortative sperm usage from the spermatheca.
authors.affiliation: Laboratório de Triatomíneos e Epidemiologia da Doença de Chagas, Centro de Pesquisas René Rachou, Fiocruz, Belo Horizonte, MG, 30190-002, Brasil.
authors.forename: Herton Helder Rocha
authors.initials: HH
authors.lastname: Pires
authors.forename: Daniele Oliveira
authors.initials: DO
authors.lastname: Abrao
authors.forename: Evandro Marques de Menezes
authors.initials: EM
authors.lastname: Machado
authors.forename: Christopher John
authors.initials: CJ
authors.lastname: Schofield
authors.forename: Liléia
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Diotaiuti
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D005127:Eye Color / Q000235:genetics*; D005260:Female; D005298:Fertility / Q000235:genetics; D005819:Genetic Markers; D008297:Male; D010641:Phenotype; D014224:Triatoma / Q000235:genetics*
chemical_list: D005819:Genetic Markers