Genetic diversity of the brown marmorated stink bug Halyomorpha halys in the invaded territories of Europe and its patterns of diffusion in Italy

Abstract

Halyomorpha halys is an invasive stink bug pest originating from East Asia. In Europe, it was first detected in Switzerland in 2004. It is now present in thirteen countries, and seems to be spreading throughout the continent. In Italy, where it has been recorded since 2012, other than being an urban nuisance, it is causing severe damage in commercial fruit orchards. An integrated approach, using current and previous observational data in space and time and molecular information, was used to identify the genetic diversity of this pest in Europe, its invasion history, and the potential pathways of entry and diffusion. The analysis of 1175 bp of mitochondrial DNA cytochrome c oxidase I and II genes (cox1, cox2) led to the identification of twenty previously unknown haplotypes. The European distribution of H. halys is the result of multiple invasions that are still in progress, and, in some cases, it was possible to identify the specific Asian areas of origin. Moreover, secondary invasions could have occurred among European countries by a bridgehead effect. In Italy, the data were more clearly related to their temporal occurrence, allowing for a clearer reading of the patterns of invasion and dispersion. After having successfully established in localized areas, H. halys further expanded its range by an active dispersion process and/or by jump dispersal events due to passive transport. The multiple introductions from different areas of the native range together with the different patterns of diffusion of H. halys, may hamper the pest management strategies for its containment

Genetic Diversity Analysis of Brown Marmorated Stink Bug, Halyomorpha Halys Based on Mitochondrial COI and COII Haplotypes

“…Of these, the rst two haplotypes were the two most common haplotypes. Interestingly, the last 3 haplotypes [H33h3 (TH25), H8h11 (TH11) and H45h11 (TH22)] detected in Italy by Cesari et al [28] were also detected in China, Austria, and Japan, respectively, in this study. After combining the haplotype data from the two studies, haplotype network ( Fig.…”

“…(2018) [28] included relatively large number of samples from Italy (209 samples from 10 regions) and identi ed 22 unique COI and COII combined haplotypes.…”

“…Moreover, an interesting phenomenon was observed that some haplotypes (N3n3, N5n3, N4n4, N5n5) detected only in the Hainan population (China) was highly isolated and closer to Japanese populations rather than to Chinese populations. To further explore the distribution of the combined haplotypes, the combined COI and COII dataset from the present and the previous studies [19,28] were analysed together and resulted in a total of 81 haplotypes. The haplotype network analysis ( Fig.…”

Influence of Temperature on Age-Stage, Two-Sex Life Tables for a Minnesota-Acclimated Population of the Brown Marmorated Stink Bug (Halyomorpha halys)

“…For insect species with continental distributions like H. halys, local populations can be considerably different in genetics, physiology, and behavior [68]. Nevertheless, as stated earlier, we considered the MN population to be representative of the eastern US populations [77] and hence share the same haplotype as that of the PA population in the US, along with the Emilia-Romagna population in Italy and the Beijing population in China, all of which are H1 haplotypes [76,81]. For the latter two populations, life history data on developmental time under ambient conditions to compare against the MN population were not available.…”

Invasion origin, rapid population expansion, and the lack of genetic structure of cotton bollworm (Helicoverpa armigera) in the Americas

“…The high number of private haplotypes (57%) separated for a single mutation step suggests that H. armigera populations are in demographic expansion in Brazil, which is also confirmed by the neutrality tests and the unimodal mismatch distribution analysis. Population expansion is a common fact in invasive species (Cesari et al, ; Lee, ; Sakai et al, ). However, H. armigera population expansion may also be justified by evolutionary forces resulting from agricultural management that promotes multiple events of colonization in the areas.…”