High level of genetic variation in mitochondrial 16S rDNA among populations of Porcellionides pruinosus (Brandt, 1833) (Crustacea: Isopoda: Oniscidea) in Tunisia

Abstract

For more than 20 years, the cosmopolitan species Porcellionides pruinosus (Brandt, 1833) has been characterised by a controversial taxonomic status. This "species" has a high ecological plasticity, which enabled it to conquer different kinds of habitats. Besides that, this "species" exhibits a geographical variation in its morphological features and its reproduction pattern. In fact, some Tunisian populations had a seasonal reproductive period and while others showed a reproductive activity. A genetic analysis of rDNA 16S sequences has been performed to compare eight populations of P. pruinosus from different geographical sites, located in the north, centre, and south of Tunisia. Results reveal that the population of Tunis shows considerable variation in the primary structure of the sequences and has a substantial genetic diversity (F ST = 0.98 and F CT = 0.97). However, the genetic variation is low for the populations of Bella Regia and Bousalem (0.00041), and null between populations of Elfeija, Chebba, Monastir, Sbiba and Sned. Moreover, the genetic distance of the population of Tunis (≥ 0.35) compared to the other populations raises questions about the taxonomic status of this population. Also, in this latter population transitions are the most dominant variations, whereas for the other seven populations there are only two types of transversion substitutions. The results of the current study emphasise the controversial taxonomic status of Porcellionides pruinosus in Tunisia. Consequently, it would appear that the taxonomic status of P. pruinosus from Tunisia needs a re-evaluation.

Phylogeographic and Genetic Diversity of Porcellionides Pruinosus and Porcellio Laevis by Using the Mitochondrial Cytochrome C Oxidase Subunit 1 Sequence

“…Pairwise genetic distances among Porcellionides pruinosus populations, in our present study, ranged from 0.000 to 0.002. This closely genetic relation was consistent with the findings of Delhoumi et al [14] , who reported that the lowest genetic distances among populations of Porcellionides pruinosus in Tunisia, was found among Sbiba, Elfeija, Monastir, Chebba, and Sned.…”

“…The global species Porcellionides pruinosus (Brandt, 1833) display geographical diversity of its morphological characteristics and its reproduction pattern. In addition, it has a dialectical taxonomic history and wide ecological plasticity [14] . Pairwise genetic distances among Porcellionides pruinosus populations, in our present study, ranged from 0.000 to 0.002.…”

“…Porcellionides pruinosus is an extremely spread species of terrestrial isopods, and it is a cosmopolitan woodlouse [12][13] . The systematic status of P. pruinosus is still confused and remains inconspicuous [14] . Porcellio laevis is a large and distinctive woodlouse.…”

Redescription of Tylos maindroni Giordani Soika, 1954 (Crustacea, Isopoda, Oniscidea) based on SEM and molecular data

“…Alternatively, the low divergence levels between COI sequences reported herein may be the result of infection with Wolbachia. Infection with this endosymbiotic bacterium has been proposed to reduce mitochondrial polymorphisms in arthropods, including isopods (Marcadé et al 2009;Xiao et al 2012;Delhoumi et al 2019; but see Tang et al 2019). We cannot determine whether Wolbachia have reduced mitochondrial diversity in T. maindroni in the Persian Gulf as we did not test for the presence of Wolbachia in our specimens.…”

The gut microbiota structure of the terrestrial isopod Porcellionides pruinosus (Isopoda: Oniscidea)

“…This species was used in bioremediation tests like pesticides degradation (Loureiro et al 2002) and as a bioindicator species of soil contamination (Loureiro et al 2005(Loureiro et al , 2009. In addition, many investigations were realized using genetic (Grandjean et al 2005;Delhoumi et al 2019a) and biochemical approaches (Achouri et al 2012) to study the interpopulation polymorphism of P. pruinosus. Despite this, little is known about the gut microbiota structure, dynamic and role within this species.…”