A genetic perspective on mating systems and sex ratios of parasitoid wasps |
| |
Authors: | Michael F Antolin |
| |
Institution: | (1) Department of Biology, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO 80523, USA Tel. +1-970-491-1911; Fax +1-970-491-0649 e-mail: antolin@lamar.colostate.edu, US |
| |
Abstract: | Parasitoid sex ratios are influenced by mating systems, whether complete inbreeding, partial inbreeding, complete inbreeding
avoidance, or production of all-male broods by unmated females. Population genetic theory demonstrates that inbreeding is
possible in haplodiploids because the purging of deleterious and lethal mutations through haploid males reduces inbreeding
depression. However, this purging does not act quickly for deleterious mutations or female-limited traits (e.g., fecundity,
host searching, sex ratio). The relationship between sex ratio, inbreeding, and inbreeding depression has not been explored
in depth in parasitoids. The gregarious egg parasitoid, Trichogramma pretiosum Riley, collected from Riverside, CA (USA) produced a female-biased sex ratio of 0.24 (proportion of males). Six generations
of sibling mating in the laboratory uncovered considerable inbreeding depression (∼ 20%) in fecundity and sex ratio. A population
genetic study (based upon allozymes) showed the population was inbred (F
it = 0.246), which corresponds to 56.6% sib-mating. However, average relatedness among females emerging from the same host egg
was only 0.646, which is less than expected (0.75) if ovipositing females mate randomly. This lower relatedness could arise
from inbreeding avoidance, multiple mating by females, or superparasitism. A review of the literature in general shows relatively
low inbreeding depression in haplodiploid species, but indicates that inbreeding depression can be as high as that found in
Drosophila. Finally, mating systems and inbreeding depression are thought to evolve in concert (in plants), but similar dynamic models
of the joint evolution of sex ratio, mating systems, and inbreeding depression have not been developed for parasitoid wasps.
Received: November 13, 1998 /Accepted: January 8, 1999 |
| |
Keywords: | Trichogramma pretiosum Hymenoptera Inbreeding depression Population genetics |
本文献已被 SpringerLink 等数据库收录! |
|