Determination of paternity in dragonflies by Random Amplified Polymorphic DNA fingerprinting |
| |
| Authors: | H HADRYS † B SCHIERWATER ¶ S L DELLAPORTA R DESALLE† L W BUSS |
| |
| Institution: | *Departments of Biology and §Geology and Geophysics, Yale University, New Haven, CT 06511, USA;?Zoologisches Institut der TU, Pockelsstraβe 10a, D-3300 Braunschweig, Germany;?American Museum of Natural History, Central Park West at 79th Street, New York, NY 10024, USA |
| |
| Abstract: | We used Random Amplified Polymorphic DNA (RAPD) fingerprinting to address issues of paternity in two odonate species. Amplification artifacts of RAPD markers were controlled by assessing paternity patterns relative to the banding patterns generated by quantitative mixtures of DNA from putative parents ('synthetic offspring'). In the aeshnid dragonfly Anax parthenope , for which the mating histories of both males and females were unknown, we found strong evidence for complete paternity success for the contact guarding male. In the highly polygamous libellulid dragonfly Orthetrum coerulescens , we detected and quantified mixed paternity in sequentially produced offspring clutches and demonstrated that fertilization success is correlated with the duration of copulation. Our results suggest that RAPD fingerprinting is suitable to address issues of paternity in systems which are genetically uncharacterized and produce large offspring clutches. |
| |
| Keywords: | DNA fingerprinting dragonflies mixed paternities polygamous mating systems Random Amplified Polymorphic DNA synthetic offspring |
|
|
