A Mite Species That Consists Entirely of Haploid Females
Andrew R. Weeks,1*
Frantisek Marec,2
Johannes A. J. Breeuwer1
The dominance of the diploid state in higher organisms, with
haploidy generally confined to the gametic phase, has led to the
perception that diploidy is favored by selection. This view is
highlighted by the fact that no known female organism within the
Metazoa exists exclusively (or even for a prolonged period) in a
haploid state. We used fluorescence microscopy and variation at nine
microsatellite loci to show that the false spider mite, Brevipalpus phoenicis, consists of haploid female
parthenogens. We show that this reproductive anomaly is caused by
infection by an undescribed endosymbiotic bacterium, which results in
feminization of haploid genetic males.
1 Institute for Biodiversity and Ecosystem
Dynamics, Sections Population Biology and Evolutionary Biology,
University of Amsterdam, 1098 SM Amsterdam, Netherlands.
2 Institute of Entomology, Czech Academy of
Sciences, CZ-370 05 Ceske Budejovice, Czech Republic.
*
To whom correspondence should be addressed at the Centre for
Environmental Stress and Adaptation Research, Department of Biological Sciences, Monash University, Clayton 3168, Australia. E-mail: Andrew.Weeks{at}sci.monash.edu.au
