Experimental Support for Multiple-Locus Complementary Sex Determination in the Parasitoid Cotesia vestalis

Experimental support for multiple-locus complementary sex determination in the parasitoid Cotesia vestalis.

Despite its fundamental role in development, sex determination is highly diverse among animals. Approximately 20% of all animals are haplodiploid, with haploid males and diploid females. Haplodiploid species exhibit diverse but poorly understood mechanisms of sex determination. Some hymenopteran insect species exhibit single-locus complementary sex determination (sl-CSD), where heterozygosity a...

Experimental Support for Multiple Locus Complementary Sex Determination in the 3 Parasitoid Cotesia vestalis 4 5

Transcriptome Pyrosequencing of the Parasitoid Wasp Cotesia vestalis: Genes Involved in the Antennal Odorant-Sensory System

Cotesia vestalis is an endoparasitic wasp that attacks larvae of the diamondback moth (Plutella xylostella), a herbivore of cruciferous plants. Females of C. vestalis use herbivore-induced plant odorants released from plants infested by P. xylostella as a host-searching cue. Transcriptome pyrosequencing was used to identify genes in the antennae of C. vestalis adult females coding for odorant r...

Inbreeding Depression in a Parasitoid Wasp with Single-Locus Complementary Sex Determination

Inbreeding and inbreeding depression are key processes in small or isolated populations and are therefore central concerns for the management of threatened or (re)introduced organisms. Haplodiploid species of the order Hymenoptera have a particular status with regard to inbreeding depression. Although recessive deleterious alleles that are expressed in males should be purged, an alternative for...

Sex determination meltdown upon biological control introduction of the parasitoid Cotesia rubecula?

Natural enemies may go through genetic bottlenecks during the process of biological control introductions. Such bottlenecks are expected to be particularly detrimental in parasitoid Hymenoptera that exhibit complementary sex determination (CSD). CSD is associated with a severe form of inbreeding depression because homozygosity at one or multiple sex loci leads to the production of diploid males...