Co2 Effects on Larval Development and Genetics of Mealworm Beetle, Tenebrio Molitor L. (Coleoptera: Tenebrionidae) in Two Different Co2 Systems

Abstract

Abstract. Tenebrio molitor has never been used as a model species for studying global warming effects. The objectives of this study were to measure the larval development and genetics of T. molitor under a free air CO 2 enrichment (FACE) system, open roof ventilation greenhouse system (ORVS) and a rearing room system (RR). The correlation coefficient analysis showed that the head width: body length was the best character to measure the development (0.465, 0.940 and 0.893) in all systems. Our results show that there were no significant changes in the larvae samples under RR condition, however, slight and moderate changes were observed under FACE and ORVS. Neighbour-joining analysis using cytochrome c oxidase subunit I sequence revealed the genetic data parallel with the results of the correlation coefficient. The FACE F1 progeny showed the slowest development (0.080±0.018 mm) during 0-14 days of larval development, while the most rapid before pupation occurred in the ORVS F1 (0.1205±0.0028 mm). No significant differences were noted between the systems for 0-14 days and before pupation, except for RR F1 vs ORVS F1 and ORVS F1 vs FACE F1 (p = 0.000, p = 0.002). These data can be used to clarify the changes in T. molitor due to global warming effects, as CO 2 could be one of the factors affecting the larval development.