Gévar J, Bagnères A-G, Christidès J-P, Darrouzet E
IRBI, UMR CNRS 7261, University François Rabelais of Tours, Parc de Grandmont, 37200, Tours, France.
J Chem Ecol. 2017 Aug;43(8):763-777. doi: 10.1007/s10886-017-0874-4. Epub 2017 Jul 31.
Invasive social insect populations that have been introduced to a new environment through a limited number of introduction events generally exhibit reduced variability in their chemical signatures (cuticular hydrocarbons) compared to native populations of the same species. The reduced variability in these major recognition cues could be caused by a reduction of genetic diversity due to a genetic bottleneck. This hypothesis was tested in an inbred European population of the invasive hornet Vespa velutina nigrithorax. Our results show that, in spite of the limited amount of genetic diversity present in the European population, the chemical signatures of individuals were highly heterogeneous according to their caste, sex, and colony origin. In queens, some specific saturated and unsaturated hydrocarbons were identified. These results suggest that epigenetic and/or environmental factors could play a role in modifying cuticular hydrocarbon profiles in this introduced hornet population despite the observed reduction of genetic diversity.
通过有限次数引入事件被引入新环境的入侵性群居昆虫种群，与同一物种的本地种群相比，其化学特征（表皮碳氢化合物）的变异性通常会降低。这些主要识别线索变异性的降低可能是由于遗传瓶颈导致遗传多样性减少所致。这一假设在入侵性黄蜂黑腹虎头蜂的欧洲近交种群中进行了检验。我们的结果表明，尽管欧洲种群中存在的遗传多样性有限，但个体的化学特征根据其品级、性别和蜂群来源具有高度的异质性。在蜂王中，鉴定出了一些特定的饱和烃和不饱和烃。这些结果表明，尽管观察到遗传多样性有所减少，但表观遗传和/或环境因素可能在改变这种引入黄蜂种群的表皮碳氢化合物谱方面发挥作用。
