title: Genetic Differentiation in Native and Introduced Populations of Cryptolaemus montrouzieri (Coleoptera: Coccinellidae) and Its Implications for Biological Control Programs.
abstract: Cryptolaemus montrouzieri Mulsant (Coleoptera: Coccinellidae) is an effective biological control agent of Australian origin, which has been introduced worldwide to control mealybugs. Although successfully used for >100 yr, its introduction in a new area may cause environmental risks should the populations become invasive. In the present study, a population genetics method was used to make predictions of the invasive potential of C. montrouzieri. Our results showed a similar level of genetic diversity among all populations. No significant genetic differentiation between native and introduced populations was observed, while three populations from the native region were significantly divergent. The fact that genetic diversity was not reduced in introduced areas suggests that no bottleneck effect has occurred during introduction. To avoid rapid evolution of the introduced C. montrouzieri, the introduction records of each population should be clearly traced and introductions from multiple sources into the same area should be avoided.
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Biocontrol, College of Ecology and Evolution, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou 510275, Guangdong, China.
authors.forename: Hao-Sen
authors.initials: HS
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Biocontrol, College of Ecology and Evolution, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou 510275, Guangdong, China.
authors.forename: Meng-Jie
authors.initials: MJ
authors.lastname: Jin
authors.affiliation: Australian National Insect Collection, CSIRO, National Research Collections Australia, GPO Box 1700, Canberra, ACT 2601, Australia.
authors.forename: Adam
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Ślipiński
authors.affiliation: Department of Crop Protection, Faculty of Bioscience Engineering, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium.
authors.forename: Patrick
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: De Clercq
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Biocontrol, College of Ecology and Evolution, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou 510275, Guangdong, China. lsshpang@mail.sysu.edu.cn.
authors.forename: Hong
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Pang
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001315:Australia; D002681:China; D001517:Coleoptera / Q000235:genetics* / Q000254:growth & development; D014644:Genetic Variation; D058865:Introduced Species; D007814:Larva / Q000235:genetics / Q000254:growth & development; D010572:Pest Control, Biological; D017422:Sequence Analysis, DNA
keywords: Cryptolaemus montrouzieri; biological control; genetic differentiation; risk assessment