Jin-Tu Zheng

Amplified fragment length polymorphism (AFLP) was used to analyze genetic diversity of 100 accessions of Chinese bayberry ( Myrica rubra Sieb. et Zucc.), one of the widely cultivated fruit tree crops in southern China. Six E-NN/M-NNN primer combinations were selected and a total of 236 bands were obtained, of which 177 were polymorphic (75.01%). An unweighted pair-group method of the arithmetic averages (UPGMA) was used to analyze the genetic relationships. The Dice's similarity coefficient among the Chinese bayberry accessions ranged from 0.75 to 1.00 and was 0.49 between Chinese bayberry and wax myrtle ( M. cerifera L.). The 100 accessions of Chinese bayberry were clustered into two groups and seven subgroups. Subgrouping of Chinese bayberry was not related to the sex of the plant and color or size of the ripe fruit, but to some extent the region where the accession originated. However, the accessions from the same region did not necessarily belong to the same group or subgroup, which suggested the presence of extensive gene flow among different regions. Furthermore, close relationships between some morphologically similar accessions were found.

Effects of female diet and age on offspring sex ratio of the solitary parasitoid Pachycrepoideus vindemmiae (Rondani) (Hymenoptera, Pteromalidae). Theories predict that females of parasitoid wasps would adjust the offspring sex ratio to environmental conditions in the oviposition patch, but the diet and age of females would also affect the sex ratio adjustment. Our focus was to test the effects of female diet and age on offspring sex ratio of the solitary parasitoid wasp, Pachycrepoideus vindemmiae (Rondani, 1875). Our results showed that females fed with honey had significantly less female biased offspring sex ratio than those fed only with water. Offspring sex ratio (male percentage) decreased with female age or female longevity at the beginning of oviposition but increased at the end. There should be a sperm limitation in P. vindemmiae females at the end of oviposition, and a higher frequency of unfertilized eggs were laid then. Females also laid more unfertilized eggs at the beginning of oviposition, which would be necessary to insure the mating among offspring. Male offspring developed faster and emerged earlier, which would also reduce the risk of virginity in offspring with female-biased sex ratio.