Estrutura genética de populações naturais de Parides agavus (Lepidoptera; Papilionidae) da região central do Rio Grande do Sul, Brasil

Abstract

The population structure from the genetic and evolutive view-point tries to quantify the morphologic and quantitative variability existing among the individuals, their reproductive behavior, and gene flow patterns, and the adaptative strategies to the local environment. The present study had as objective to describe the genetic population structure and the genetic variability found in natural populations of Parides agavus Santa Maria region. For the study it was utilized polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis, for isozymes. Eighty-eight P. agavus adult individuals were collected in three localities in Santa Maria. Eleven genic loci were obtained totalizing 26 alleles. The genetic diversity levels presented by the populations of P. agavus, can be considered high if they are compared with other lepidoptera species. The index of fixation for the population set presented positive value suggesting the bias panmixia in the population set. The mean FST was low, indicating little genetic differentiation among the sampling populations suggesting high gene flow or that these ones originated themselves for irradiation of same population in the past. The genetic divergence between the pairs of populations agree with the values found to the genetic distance, these data can be effect of high dispersal specie or from a connexity of the studied areas, in the past. The gene flow estimated is sufficient to maintain the low genetic differentiation among the populations of this species.