Structure and genetic variation among populations of Euschistus heros from different geographic regions in Brazil

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Abstract
The Neotropical brown stink bug, Euschistus heros (Fabricius) (Hemiptera: Pentatomidae), is a major Brazilian soybean pest. Aiming to provide relevant information to implement pest and insecticide resistance management, new microsatellite loci were developed for E. heros and used in a study of genetic diversity and population structure. The population analysis was performed using eight microsatellite loci from 17 samples (n = 243 individuals) collected in the major soybean‐producing regions in Brazil (northeastern, midwestern, and southern regions). These microsatellite loci provided high genetic diversity values on the whole extension for the studied region (He = 0.895; total number of alleles = 400). Neotropical brown stink bug populations in general displayed low genetic structure levels among the samples (overall ΦST = 0.009). An exception was the sample from the northeastern region, which showed a significant genetic differentiation (pairwise ΦST = 0.031–0.063). Bayesian cluster analysis confirmed these results, did not show population subdivision, and indicated considerable levels of gene flow. Significant correlations between genetic differences and geographic distance were obtained. The lowest estimate of migration was found in the population from São Desidério, which was also the most distant from the remaining populations based on genetic distance. Some plausible hypotheses for the low genetic differentiation among these populations are the fast expansion of soybean production areas, the main food source of E. heros, polyvoltinism, and possible influence of anthropogenic dispersal. All these factors could have led to high population densities, a wide distribution that may contribute to reduced population differentiation, and increased genetic diversity.
Funding Information
  • Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (141045/2012-4)
  • Universidade Federal do Paraná (308947/2014-2)

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