Satellite DNA variation in parental and derived unisexual hybrids of Bacillus stick insects (Phasmatodea)

The Bag320 sequence family of satellite DNA (satDNA) has been found in some stick insect taxa: the bisexual Bacillus grandii, the related parthenogen B. atticus and their hybrids with B. rossius, However, under the same exper imental conditions, the Bag320 sequences were not found in B. rossius. Bag3 20 sequences of the clonal hybrid B. whitei (= B. rossius/grandii grandii) intermingled with those of B. grandii in all plotted dendrograms. On the wh ole, satDNA features (restriction pattern, sequence variation, fluorescent in site hybridization (FISH)), allozymes and karyology support a relatively recent origin of B. whitei. Our investigations on unisexual hybrids of Bac illus also suggested that their origin and clonal reproduction allow the oc currence of different sequence subsets of limited variability in isolated p opulations stemming from the hybridization focus.