Unexpected relationships of substructured populations in Chinese Locusta migratoria.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Highly migratory species are usually expected to have minimal population substructure because strong gene flow has the effect of homogenizing genetic variation over geographical populations, counteracting random drift, selection and mutation. The migratory locust Locusta migratoria belongs to a monotypic genus, and is an infamous pest insect with exceptional migratory ability - with dispersal documented over a thousand kilometers. Its distributional area is greater than that of any other locust or grasshopper, occurring in practically all the temperate and tropical regions of the eastern hemisphere. Consequently, minimal population substructuring is expected. However, in marked contrast to its high dispersal ability, three geographical subspecies have been distinguished

SUBMITTER: Zhang DX 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC2718889 | biostudies-literature | 2009 Jun

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature