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Outbreeding effects in an inbreeding insect, Cimex lectularius
Toby Fountain1, Roger K Butlin2, Klaus Reinhardt3
1Animal and Plant Sciences, University of Sheffield, Western Bank Sheffield, S10 2TN, UK ; Department of Biosciences, University of Helsinki PO Box 65 (Viikinkaari 1), FI-00014, Helsinki, Finland.
Ecology and Evolution
|February 19, 2015
Summary
Common bed bugs (Cimex lectularius) show resilience to inbreeding. Outbreeding offers short-term starvation resistance, but benefits are lost after two generations, suggesting limited impact on bed bug resurgence.
Area of Science:
- Ecology
- Evolutionary Biology
- Genetics
Background:
- Inbreeding resilience is observed in some species with small founder populations.
- The common bed bug (Cimex lectularius) exhibits inbreeding despite human-mediated gene flow.
- Outbreeding can cause heterosis or outbreeding depression, impacting fitness.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the impact of inbreeding and outbreeding on bed bug (Cimex lectularius) fitness over two generations.
- To understand the effects of gene flow on inbred bed bug populations.
- To assess the potential for heterosis and outbreeding depression in Cimex lectularius.
Main Methods:
- Comparison of fitness traits between inbred and outbred bed bug families.
- Mimicking founder events (inbreeding) and gene flow events (outbreeding).
- Evaluation of fitness over two generations.
Main Results:
- Outbreeding increased starvation resistance in the first generation compared to inbreeding.
- The benefit of outbreeding on starvation resistance was lost by the second generation.
- No significant differences in fecundity or other fitness traits were observed between inbred and outbred groups.
Conclusions:
- Bed bug resilience to inbreeding is likely due to their evolutionary history.
- Outbreeding benefits may be context-dependent, appearing under stress and when heterozygosity is maximized without disrupting coadaptation.
- Understanding inbreeding and outbreeding dynamics is crucial for managing the resurgence of bed bug populations.
