Stratified dispersal and increasing genetic variation during the invasion of Central Europe by the western corn rootworm, Diabrotica virgifera virgifera.

ABSTRACT: Invasive species provide opportunities for investigating evolutionary aspects of colonization processes, including initial foundations of populations and geographic expansion. Using microsatellite markers and historical information, we characterized the genetic patterns of the invasion of the western corn rootworm (WCR), a pest of corn crops, in its largest area of expansion in Europe: Central and South-Eastern (CSE) Europe. We found that the invaded area probably corresponds to a single expanding population resulting from a single introduction of WCR and that gene flow is geographically limited within the population. In contrast to what is expected in classical colonization processes, an increase in genetic variation was observed from the center to the edge of the outbreak. Control measur

SUBMITTER: Ciosi M 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3352514 | biostudies-literature | 2011 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature