Ecology and Evolution (2020) 10, 11090-11099

Zachary C. DeVries, Richard G. Santangelo, Warren Booth, Christopher G. Lawrence, Ondrej Balvín, Tomás Bartonicka and Coby Schal (2020)
Reproductive compatibility among populations and host-associated lineages of the common bed bug (Cimex lectularius L.)
Ecology and Evolution 10 (20), 11090-11099
Abstract: As populations differentiate across geographic or host-association barriers, interpopulation fertility is often a measure of the extent of incipient speciation. The bed bug, Cimex lectularius L., was recently found to form two host-associated lineages within Europe: one found with humans (human-associated, HA) and the other found with bats (bat-associated, BA). No unequivocal evidence of contemporary gene flow between these lineages has been found; however, it is unclear whether this is due to an inability to produce viable "hybrid" offspring. To address this question and determine the extent of compatibility between host-associated lineages, we set up mating crosses among populations of bed bugs based on both their host association (human—HA vs. bat—BA) and geographic origin (North America vs. Europe). Within-population fecundity was significantly higher for all HA populations (>1.7 eggs/day) than for BA populations (<1 egg/day). However, all within-population crosses, regardless of host association, had >92% egg hatch rates. Contrary to previous reports, in all interlineage crosses, successful matings occurred, fertile eggs were oviposited, and the F₁ "hybrid" generation was found to be reproductively viable. In addition, we evaluated interpopulation genetic variation in Wolbachia among host-associated lineages. We did not find any clear patterns related to host association, nor did we observe a homogenization of Wolbachia lineages across populations that might explain a breakdown of reproductive incompatibility. These results indicate that while the HA and BA populations of C. lectularius represent genetically differentiated host-associated lineages, possibly undergoing sympatric speciation, this is in its incipient stage as they remain reproductively compatible. Other behavioral, physiological, and/or ecological factors likely maintain host-associated differentiation.
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Database assignments for author(s): Coby Schal

Research topic(s) for pests/diseases/weeds:
general biology - morphology - evolution
molecular biology - genes

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Pest and/or beneficial records:

Beneficial	Pest/Disease/Weed	Crop/Product	Country	Quarant.
	Cimex lectularius		Czech Republic
	Cimex lectularius		Norway
	Cimex lectularius		U.S.A. (NE)
	Cimex lectularius		U.S.A. (SE)