Heritability estimates in 22 traits of the biological control agent Amblyseius swirskii point to allele losses from mass rearing
Under ongoing climate change, the success of biological pest control might be at risk if in the process of massrearing, the populations of commercial biological control agents lose genetic variability in traits that allow adaptation linked to satisfactory pest control in future crop conditions. The...
| Autores: | , , , , |
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| Tipo de recurso: | artículo |
| Estado: | Versión publicada |
| Fecha de publicación: | 2025 |
| País: | España |
| Institución: | Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (CSIC) |
| Repositorio: | DIGITAL.CSIC. Repositorio Institucional del CSIC |
| OAI Identifier: | oai:digital.csic.es:10261/406441 |
| Acceso en línea: | http://hdl.handle.net/10261/406441 https://api.elsevier.com/content/abstract/scopus_id/105021367315 |
| Access Level: | acceso abierto |
| Palabra clave: | Genetic breeding Genetic variability Intraclass correlation Isofemale lines Phytoseiidae Predatory mite Spider mite |
| Sumario: | Under ongoing climate change, the success of biological pest control might be at risk if in the process of massrearing, the populations of commercial biological control agents lose genetic variability in traits that allow adaptation linked to satisfactory pest control in future crop conditions. The isofemale line technique was used to estimate the broadsense heritability (H<sup>2</sup>) in 22 morphological, life history, physiological, and behavioral quantitative traits from two populations of the species Amblyseius swirskii Athias-Henriot (Acari: Phytoseiidae): one commercial, acquired from a company; and the other wild, obtained by the authors from field collections in the region where this species is native. None of the traits estimated in the commercial population held genetic variance (H<sup>2</sup>~0), whereas the H<sup>2</sup> of 5 traits related to development time and morphology were significant in the wild population. Analyzing together the isolines of both populations allowed increasing the number of significant H<sup>2</sup> estimates to 12, which included physiological traits such as desiccation and starvation resistance. Assuming similar genetic drift in both populations, the fact that heritability estimates in the commercial population were estimated to be almost null indicated that this population might have undergone selection leading to a decrease in genetic variability. Unintentional adaptations to long-term captive conditions can have drastic effects on the performance of BCAs. Low genetic variability in commercial populations may limit their within-generation persistence in the field, as well as their potential for between-generation rapid adaptation in response to environmental changes, ultimately jeopardizing pest control. |
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