Ongoing ecological speciation in Cotesia sesamiae, a biological control agent of cereal stem borers.

ABSTRACT: To develop efficient and safe biological control, we need to reliably identify natural enemy species, determine their host range, and understand the mechanisms that drive host range evolution. We investigated these points in Cotesia sesamiae, an African parasitic wasp of cereal stem borers. Phylogenetic analyses of 74 individual wasps, based on six mitochondrial and nuclear genes, revealed three lineages. We then investigated the ecological status (host plant and host insect ranges in the field, and host insect suitability tests) and the biological status (cross-mating tests) of the three lineages. We found that one highly supported lineage showed all the hallmarks of a cryptic species. It is associated with one host insect, Sesamia nonagrioides, and is reproductively isolated from the oth

SUBMITTER: Kaiser L 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4561570 | biostudies-literature | 2015 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature