Genetic population structure of the paper waspPolistes olivaceus(Hymenoptera: Vespidae) in Bangladesh

Abstract

Dispersal triggers gene flow, which in turn strongly affects the ensuing genetic population structure of a species. Using nuclear microsatellite loci and mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA), we estimated the genetic population structure of the wasp Polistes olivaceus throughout Bangladesh. The level of population differentiation using nuclear markers (F ST ) appeared to be much lower than that estimated using mtDNA haplotype sequences (A ST ), even after correcting for effective population size differences between the two markers. These results suggest a philopatric tendency, in which gynes disperse less than males. We observed no isolation by distance among the study populations at either the nuclear or mtDNA level, suggesting nonequilibrium between gene flow and drift as a result of very frequent interpopulation movement. For the nuclear markers, an individual assignment test showed no genetically and geographically distinct groups. Instead, phylogenetic analyses as well as a minimum spanning network using mtDNA haplotypes consistently revealed two distinct lineages. The distribution of haplotypes indicated western populations with a single lineage and offered clear evidence for restricted gene flow across the JamunaPadma-Upper Meghna river system. Mismatch distributions exhibited a unimodal distribution, which along with a starlike haplotype network, suggested a population expansion in lineage I but not in lineage II. Overall, these results suggest that gene flow among populations of P. olivaceus was affected by both female philopatry and a major river system across Bangladesh.

Phylogenetic Relationship of Iraqi Vespa orientalis Linnaeus 1771 Wasps Using Mitochondrial CO1

“…Annotation in this work revealed that late adult lac insects possess the highest numbers of exonic and intergenic SNPs. Furthermore, using microsatellite loci and mitochondrial DNA, researchers in Bangladesh analysed the genetic makeup of the Polistes olivaceous population and found that nuclear markers provided a less accurate indication of the level of differentiation than did mitochondrial DNA haplotype sequencing [40]. Several species have been identified using CO1 which showed that the DNA barcode is a quick and accurate way to identify Korean Vespa species [4].…”

Strong Gene Flow Undermines Local Adaptations in a Host Parasite System

“…Therefore, an important fraction of the P. biglumis males and females must disperse relatively well and particularly males must be able to cover long distances. Similarly, a major geographic barrier (Jamuna-Padma-Upper Meghna river system in Bangladesh) appears to be a dispersal barrier particularly for females in Polistes olivaceus [75].…”

“…Spatial population structure has attracted relatively little attention in paper wasps, but our results in the biglumis-atrimandibularis system are in line with the few existing studies. Significant genetic differentiation has only been found among relatively distant populations (tens to hundreds km apart) [75,76] or across continents [50], but not among nest clusters at local scale e.g., [77][78][79][80][81]. The only earlier genetic study on P. atrimandibularis found marginally significant differentiation among individuals ("races") parasitizing different host species other than P. biglumis, but the study was conducted within a small area in Tuscany and did not study spatial population structure at larger geographic scale [82].…”

Colony structure and reproductive sharing among queens in a tropical paper wasp, Polistes olivaceus

“…Although the fundamental biology of this species has only recently been examined, a previous genetic study revealed that a Bangladeshi population is divided by the country's widest river system, the Jamuna, Padma, Lower Meghna (JPLM) (Uddin and Tsuchida, 2012). In addition, female philopatry has been observed among populations.…”