Conservation genetics of neotropical pollinators revisited: microsatellite analysis suggests that diploid males are rare in orchid bees.
Allozyme analyses have suggested that Neotropical orchid bee (Euglossini) pollinators are vulnerable because of putative high frequencies of diploid males, a result of loss of sex allele diversity in small hymenopteran populations with single locus complementary sex determination. Our analysis of 1010 males from 27 species of euglossine bees sampled across the Neotropics at 2–11 polymorphic microsatellite loci revealed only five diploid males at an overall frequency of 0.005 (95% CIs 0.002–0.010); errors through genetic nondetection of diploid males were likely small. In contrast to allozyme-based studies, we detected very weak or insignificant population genetic structure, even for a pair of populations >500 km apart, possibly accounting for low diploid male frequencies. Technical flaws in previous allozyme-based analyses have probably led to considerable overestimation of diploid male production in orchid bees. Other factors may have a more immediate impact on population persistence than the genetic load imposed by diploid males on these important Neotropical pollinators.
Souza
Rogério O
RO
Laboratório de Genética Evolutiva de Himenópteros, Departamento de Genética e Evolução, Universidade Federal de São Carlos, CEP 13565-905 São Carlos, São Paulo, Brazil.
Del Lama
Marco A
MA
Cervini
Marcelo
M
Mortari
Norma
N
Eltz
Thomas
T
Zimmermann
Yvonne
Y
Bach
Carola
C
Brosi
Berry J
BJ
Suni
Sevan
S
Quezada-Euán
J Javier G
JJ
Paxton
Robert J
RJ
D000483:Alleles; D000818:Animals; D001516:Bees / Q000235:genetics* / Q000502:physiology*; D004171:Diploidy; D019143:Evolution, Molecular; D005260:Female; D014644:Genetic Variation; D005828:Genetics, Population; D008297:Male; D018895:Microsatellite Repeats; D008957:Models, Genetic; D015233:Models, Statistical; D029595:Orchidaceae; D054817:Pollination; D012737:Sex Factors; D013045:Species Specificity