Di. Shapiro et al., GENETIC DIVERSITY IN WILD AND LABORATORY POPULATIONS OF HETERORHABDITIS-BACTERIOPHORA AS DETERMINED BY RAPD-PCR ANALYSIS, Fundamental and applied nematology, 20(6), 1997, pp. 581-585
Genetic variation in laboratory reared biocontrol agents may be reduce
d due to founder effect, inbreeding, and selection. We used random amp
lified polymorphic DNA (RAPD-PCR) to compare genetic variation in two
strains of Heterorhabditis bacteriophora. One strain (IS5) was recentl
y isolated from the field and the other strain (HP88) has been reared
under laboratory conditions for over 10 years. For each strain, fiftee
n inbred lines were generated by eight cycles of selfing of a single h
ermaphrodite (reaching > 90 % homozygosity). Genomic DNA from each of
the inbred lines was screened with fourteen decamer primers. Genetic v
ariation was calculated based on average percentage similarity of DNA
banding patterns and cluster analysis. The level of within population
variation detected did not differ significantly between the two strain
s.