Development and application of 14 microsatellite markers in the burying beetleNicrophorus vespilloidesreveals population genetic differentiation at local spatial scales

Abstract

Burying beetles (genus Nicrophorus) are relatively rare among insects in providing sophisticated parental care. Consequently, they have become model species in research analysing social evolution, the evolution of parental care and mating systems. We used the recently published N. vespilloides genome and transcriptome to develop microsatellite markers. Specifically, we developed 14 polymorphic markers with five to 13 alleles per locus and used them to investigate levels of genetic differentiation in four south Cambridgeshire (UK) populations of N. vespilloides, separated by 21 km at most. The markers revealed significant genetic structuring among populations (global FST = 0.023) with all but one of the pairwise comparisons among populations being significant. The single exception was the comparison between the two closest populations, which are approximately 2.5 km apart. In general, the microsatellite markers showed lower observed heterozygosity than expected. We infer that there is limited dispersal between populations and potentially also some inbreeding within them and suggest that this may be due to habitat fragmentation. We discuss these results in the context of recent laboratory experiments on inbreeding and beetle flight.

Superior stimulation of female fecundity by subordinate males provides a mechanism for telegony

“…We counted the number of eggs she laid, and the number and mass of larvae she produced. Paternity of the offspring was assigned using microsatellite markers (Pascoal and Kilner , see Methods).…”

“…Total genomic DNA ( n = 1005; 204 parents of known sex and 801 offspring) was individually extracted from beetle heads using the DNeasy Tissue Kit (Qiagen) following the manufacturer's instructions. For parentage analysis, up to nine previously developed polymorphic microsatellite markers (Pascoal and Kilner ) were used (Table ). All individuals were genotyped for five markers (mix1) and, when necessary ( n = 359), for additional four markers (mix2) to increase confidence of parentage assignment.…”

“…All individuals were genotyped for five markers (mix1) and, when necessary ( n = 359), for additional four markers (mix2) to increase confidence of parentage assignment. Microsatellite amplification and multiplexing was performed as described in Pascoal and Kilner (). Briefly, two microsatellite multiplexes were amplified using the Qiagen Multiplex PCR kit.…”

Rapid local adaptation linked with phenotypic plasticity

“…However, until roughly 3000‐4000 years ago they were almost certainly connected as part of the “Wild Wood,” the ancient forest that once covered England but which was deforested from the Bronze Age onward (Rackham 2000). Furthermore, genetic analyses suggest that N. vespilloides populations now occupying Gamlingay and Waresley Woods were recently derived from a single large population of N. vespilloides that once occupied the Wild Wood, because they cannot be differentiated at neutral genetic markers (Pascoal and Kilner 2017). We investigated whether N. vespilloides has divergently adapted to the contrasting ecological conditions that exist in the relatively new woodland islands of Gamlingay and Waresley Woods.…”

The early‐life environment and individual plasticity in life‐history traits

“…beetles from spring to autumn of 2013 at two field sites, Byron's Pool (BP) (52°10ʹ5ʺN, 0°7ʹ55ʺE) and Wicken Fen (WF) (52°31ʹ06ʺN, 0°29ʹ13ʺE), each in Cambridgeshire, UK. Note that it is highly unlikely that individual beetles could travel between these sites (Pascoal & Kilner, ). Therefore, putative cues from mites need only predict the local environment at each site, rather than the environment across both sites, to be of strategic value to a beetle.…”