DNA barcode assessment and population structure of aphidophagous hoverfly Sphaerophoria scripta: Implications for conservation biological control

• Published in: Ecology and evolution Vol. 10; no. 17; pp. 9428 - 9443
• Main Authors: Gojković, Nemanja, Francuski, Ljubinka, Ludoški, Jasmina, Milankov, Vesna
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: England John Wiley & Sons, Inc 01.09.2020; John Wiley and Sons Inc; Wiley
• Subjects: Agricultural practices; Biological control; Conservation; Constellations; Crops; Cytochrome; Cytochrome-c oxidase; Cytochromes; Deoxyribonucleic acid; Diagnostic systems; DNA; DNA barcoding; Ecosystem biology; Ecosystems; Gene loci; Gene sequencing; Genetic diversity; Genetic engineering; Haplotypes; Heterogeneity; Insects; Inspection; Integrated pest management; landscape genetics; Markers; Mitochondrial DNA; Morphometry; Natural enemies; Original Research; Pest control; Pests; Plant reproduction; Population; Population genetics; Population structure; Populations; Ribosomal DNA; Species; Sphaerophoria; Sphaerophoria scripta; wing geometric morphometrics; Europe; landscape genetics; integrated pest management; wing geometric morphometrics
• ISSN: 2045-7758; 2045-7758
• DOI: 10.1002/ece3.6631

With the advent of integrated pest management, the conservation of indigenous populations of natural enemies of pest species has become a relevant practice, necessitating the accurate identification of beneficial species and the inspection of evolutionary mechanisms affecting the long‐time persistence of their populations. The long hoverfly, Sphaerophoria scripta, represents one of the most potent aphidophagous control agents due to a worldwide distribution and a favorable constellation of biological traits. Therefore, we assessed five European S. scripta populations by combining molecular (cytochrome c oxidase subunit I‐ COI, internal transcribed spacer 2‐ ITS2, and allozyme loci) and morphological (wing size and shape) characters. COI sequences retrieved in this study were conjointly analyzed with BOLD/GenBank sequences of the other Sphaerophoria species to evaluate whether COI possessed a sufficient diagnostic value as a DNA barcode marker to consistently delimit allospecific individuals. Additionally, the aforementioned characters were used to inspect the population structure of S. scripta in Europe using methods based on individual‐ and population‐based genetic differences, as well as geometric morphometrics of wing traits. The results indicate numerous shared COI haplotypes among different Sphaerophoria species, thus disqualifying this marker from being an adequate barcoding region in this genus. Conversely, the analyses of population structuring revealed high population connectivity across Europe, therefore indicating strong tolerance of S. scripta to environmental heterogeneity. The results imply a multilocus approach as the next step in molecular identification of different Sphaerophoria species, while confirming the status of S. scripta as a powerful biocontrol agent of economically relevant aphid pests. The study deals with the issue of population connectivity of an important aphidophagous hoverfly, Sphaerophoria scripta, based on the integrative approach—through the use of molecular and phenotypic markers, while also tackling the issue of distinguishing S. scripta from the congeneric species using DNA barcoding. The implications of the results are discussed in the light of pest management programs and the preservation of the ecosystem services of pest suppression and plant pollination, contributing to the growing body of knowledge concerning the protection of eco‐evolutionary interactions in times of global climate changes.