TY - JOUR
T1 - Genetic and morphologic variation in a potential mosquito biocontrol agent, Hydrochara affinis (Coleoptera: Hydrophilidae)
AU - Kang, Ji Hyoun
AU - Lim, Changseob
AU - Park, Sung Hwan
AU - Kim, Wang Gyu
AU - Sareein, Nattawut
AU - Bae, Yeon Jae
N1 - Funding Information:
Funding: This study was funded by the Korean Ministry of Environment (MOE) as part of the “Advanced Technology Program for Environmental Industry” (2016000210003) and a grant (NRF-2017R1C1B1010741) to J.H.K. from the Basic Science Research Program, through the National Research Foundation of Korea (NRF), which is funded by the Ministry of Science, ICT & Future Planning.
Funding Information:
This study was funded by the Korean Ministry of Environment (MOE) as part of the "Advanced Technology Program for Environmental Industry" (2016000210003) and a grant (NRF-2017R1C1B1010741) to J.H.K. from the Basic Science Research Program, through the National Research Foundation of Korea (NRF), which is funded by the Ministry of Science, ICT & Future Planning. We would like to express our gratitude to the members of the Biodiversity and Ecology Laboratory of Korea University for maintaining the laboratory rearing population and to Sang Woo Jung and Hwang-Goo Lee for their help with field sampling.
Publisher Copyright:
© 2020 by the authors.
PY - 2020/7/1
Y1 - 2020/7/1
N2 - Hydrochara affinis (Coleoptera: Hydrophilidae), a water scavenger beetle, was recently identified as a natural and effective agent for biological mosquito control; it was reported to exhibit high rates of mosquito larvae predation. However, maintaining the quality (i.e., natural ecological attributes, such as genetic variation) of laboratory-reared populations is essential for ensuring the long-term success of biological control programs. Accordingly, here, we aimed to use mitochondrial Cytochrome c oxidase subunit I (COI) sequences to document the genetic diversity, population structure, and phylogenetic position of natural and lab-reared H. affinis populations in South Korea and use geometric morphometric analysis to investigate the populations' morphological divergence. The natural H. affinis populations possessed high genetic diversity and numerous COI haplotypes, suggesting that these populations were healthy and could be directly applied to mosquito habitats without alterations to their natural genetic attributes. The lab-reared populations also possessed high genetic diversity and, thus, the potential for high adaptive capacity to new environments. Although no distinct population genetic structures were observed, quantitative variation was observed in the body shape of both the natural and lab-reared populations. The high levels of genetic and morphologic variation observed in the H. affinis populations examined here indicate the species' favorable conservation status, genetic diversity, adaptive capacity, and, thus, "suitability" for field application as an effective mosquito control agent.
AB - Hydrochara affinis (Coleoptera: Hydrophilidae), a water scavenger beetle, was recently identified as a natural and effective agent for biological mosquito control; it was reported to exhibit high rates of mosquito larvae predation. However, maintaining the quality (i.e., natural ecological attributes, such as genetic variation) of laboratory-reared populations is essential for ensuring the long-term success of biological control programs. Accordingly, here, we aimed to use mitochondrial Cytochrome c oxidase subunit I (COI) sequences to document the genetic diversity, population structure, and phylogenetic position of natural and lab-reared H. affinis populations in South Korea and use geometric morphometric analysis to investigate the populations' morphological divergence. The natural H. affinis populations possessed high genetic diversity and numerous COI haplotypes, suggesting that these populations were healthy and could be directly applied to mosquito habitats without alterations to their natural genetic attributes. The lab-reared populations also possessed high genetic diversity and, thus, the potential for high adaptive capacity to new environments. Although no distinct population genetic structures were observed, quantitative variation was observed in the body shape of both the natural and lab-reared populations. The high levels of genetic and morphologic variation observed in the H. affinis populations examined here indicate the species' favorable conservation status, genetic diversity, adaptive capacity, and, thus, "suitability" for field application as an effective mosquito control agent.
KW - COI
KW - Genetic diversity
KW - Geometric morphometrics
KW - Mosquito larvae
KW - Natural enemy
KW - Predator
KW - Water scavenger beetle
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85088237366&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.3390/su12135481
DO - 10.3390/su12135481
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85088237366
SN - 2071-1050
VL - 12
JO - Sustainability (Switzerland)
JF - Sustainability (Switzerland)
IS - 13
M1 - 5481
ER -