Isolation and characterization of seventeen polymorphic microsatellite markers in the cleptoparasitic cuckoo wasp Hedychrum nobile (Hymenoptera: Chrysididae)

Abstract

We report the isolation and characterization of seventeen microsatellites from the haplo-diploid cleptoparasitic cuckoo wasp Hedychrum nobile (Hymenoptera: Chrysididae). The microsatellite markers were studied in 14 diploid females and 29 haploid males of the wasp collected in Rhineland Palatinate, Germany. All markers are polymorphic, with 3-25 alleles per locus. The observed frequency of null alleles was 0.00-0.03, and no significant difference was found between the observed and the expected heterozygosity. At least three pairs of markers are in linkage disequilibrium. We tested the markers in Hedychrum chalybaeum, Hedychrum gerstaeckeri, Hedychrum niemelai, and Hedychrum rutilans and amplified 11, 6, 13, and 5 of them in the respective species. The reported markers will help to understand the dispersal abilities and genetic isolation of Hedychrum nobile and congeneric species in fragmented landscapes where the wasps' hosts occur in isolated populations.