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Intraspecific variation and population structure of the German cockroach, Blattella germanica , revealed with RFLP analysis of the non‐transcribed spacer region of ribosomal DNA
Author(s) -
MUKHA D. V.,
KAGRAMANOVA A. S.,
LAZEBNAYA I. V.,
LAZEBNYI O. E.,
VARGO E. L.,
SCHAL C.
Publication year - 2007
Publication title -
medical and veterinary entomology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.028
H-Index - 82
eISSN - 1365-2915
pISSN - 0269-283X
DOI - 10.1111/j.1365-2915.2007.00670.x
Subject(s) - biology , restriction fragment length polymorphism , internal transcribed spacer , german cockroach , genetics , population , intraspecific competition , ribosomal dna , cockroach , genetic variation , evolutionary biology , spacer dna , ribosomal rna , zoology , genotype , ecology , phylogenetic tree , gene , demography , sociology
Little information is available on genetic variation within and between populations of pest cockroaches. In this study, intraspecific Hind III polymorphism was investigated in the German cockroach, Blattella germanica (Linnaeus) (Dictyoptera, Blattaria: Blattellidae), using restriction fragment length polymorphisms (RFLP) of the non‐transcribed spacer (NTS) region of ribosomal DNA (rDNA). Individual male insects were collected from infestations at three different pig farms. Each population was characterized by Hind III restriction fragment frequencies and haplotype (a particular X‐chromosome pattern) frequencies. The inheritance of the X‐chromosome Hind III rDNA patterns over 12 generations (3 years) follows Mendelian patterns, and the stability of this polymorphic marker indicates infrequent genetic recombination of variable sites. Although pairwise genetic distance measures were uncorrelated with geographical distance, the pattern of genetic differentiation of the three cockroach populations suggests that human‐mediated transport of cockroaches is an important force in shaping the population genetic structure of cockroach infestations, at least at the regional scale of 10–100 km. Sequence variation in the ribosomal NTS is a useful marker, and RFLP of rDNA is a simple, robust and reproducible technique for differentiating recently diverged cockroach populations.