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© 2023 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). Notwithstanding the ProQuest Terms and Conditions, you may use this content in accordance with the terms of the License.

Abstract

Simple Summary

Marchalina hellenica (Hemiptera: Marchalinidae) is a significant contributor to annual honey production in Greece and Turkey, where it is endemic. It was initially described as parthenogenetic, producing only females. The exact reproduction strategy of this species remains unknown. For this reason, we studied the emergence pattern of male individuals in Greece for two consecutive years (2021 and 2022). Furthermore, we examined the genetic variation among 15 geographically distant populations of M. hellenica in Greece using a mitochondrial DNA marker and compared the results with data from Turkey. This study documents the existence of an additional M. hellenica population in its native range that repeatedly produces males, suggesting a previously unknown role for males in the species’ reproduction. The Greek and Turkish populations exhibited a strong genetic affinity, while the genetic pattern in Greece seems to have been obscured by human-aided dispersal.

Abstract

Marchalina hellenica (Hemiptera: Marchalinidae), an endemic species in Greece and Turkey, is a major contributor to the annual honey production in its native range. However, in the areas that it invades, lacking natural enemies, it has detrimental effects on pine trees and potentially contributes to tree mortality. Although it was originally reported as thelytokous, males were later reported in Turkey and on several of the islands of Greece. To further disambiguate the exact parthenogenetic reproduction strategy of M. hellenica, we studied the emergence pattern of male individuals in Greece for two consecutive years (2021 and 2022). Furthermore, we examined the genetic variation among 15 geographically distant populations of M. hellenica in Greece using a mitochondrial DNA marker and compared the results with data from Turkey. The findings of this study document the existence of an additional M. hellenica population in its native range that repeatedly produces males, apart from the areas of Greece and Turkey in which they were initially reported, suggesting that males play a major, so far unknown role in the reproduction of this species. The populations in Greece and Turkey exhibited a strong genetic affinity, while human-aided dispersal seems to have obscured the genetic pattern acquired.

Details

Title
Uncovering the Male Presence in Parthenogenetic Marchalina hellenica (Hemiptera: Marchalinidae): Insights into Its mtDNA Divergence and Reproduction Strategy
Author
Eleftheriadou, Nikoleta 1   VIAFID ORCID Logo  ; Lubanga, Umar K 2 ; Lefoe, Greg K 2 ; M Lukas Seehausen 3 ; Kenis, Marc 3 ; Kavallieratos, Nickolas G 1   VIAFID ORCID Logo  ; Avtzis, Dimitrios N 4   VIAFID ORCID Logo 

 Laboratory of Agricultural Zoology and Entomology, Faculty of Crop Science, Agricultural University of Athens, 75 Iera Odos str., 11855 Athens, Greece 
 Agriculture Victoria, Department of Energy, Environment and Climate Action, AgriBio Centre, Bundoora, VIC 3083, Australia 
 Centre for Agriculture and Bioscience International, Rue des Grillons 1, 2800 Delémont, Switzerland 
 Forest Research Institute—Hellenic Agricultural Organization Demeter (HAO Demeter), Vassilika, 57006 Thessaloniki, Greece 
First page
256
Publication year
2023
Publication date
2023
Publisher
MDPI AG
e-ISSN
20754450
Source type
Scholarly Journal
Language of publication
English
ProQuest document ID
2791653214
Copyright
© 2023 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). Notwithstanding the ProQuest Terms and Conditions, you may use this content in accordance with the terms of the License.