Population Structure of German Cockroaches (Blattodea: Ectobiidae) in an Urban Environment Based on Single Nucleotide Polymorphisms.

X Fan, C Wang, D E Bunker

Journal of medical entomology 2022 Jul 13

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German cockroaches (Blattella germanica L.) harbor and disperse medically important pathogens and are a source of allergens that impact human health and wellbeing. Management of this pest requires an understanding of their distribution and dispersal. In this study, we collected German cockroaches from three apartment buildings in New Jersey, USA. We identified single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) from DNA extractions using next generation sequencing. We analyzed the SNPs and characterized cockroach population genetic structure using Fst, principal component, phylogenetic, and STRUCTURE analyses. We found significant differences in German cockroach population structure among the buildings. Within buildings, we found variable population structure that may be evidence for multiple colonization events. This study shows that SNPs derived from next generation sequencing provide a powerful tool for analyzing the genetic population structure of these medically important pests. © The Author(s) 2022. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of Entomological Society of America. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.

Citation

X Fan, C Wang, D E Bunker. Population Structure of German Cockroaches (Blattodea: Ectobiidae) in an Urban Environment Based on Single Nucleotide Polymorphisms. Journal of medical entomology. 2022 Jul 13;59(4):1319-1327