ORIGINAL RESEARCH article

Front. Ecol. Evol.

Sec. Behavioral and Evolutionary Ecology

Volume 13 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fevo.2025.1635527

This article is part of the Research TopicThe Paradox of GeneralismView all articles

Host specialisation or generalism? Population genetics of the aphid Myzus persicae reveals dominance of superclones across diverse host plants

Provisionally accepted
Jean-Christophe  SimonJean-Christophe Simon1*Yannis  NioYannis Nio1Christelle  BuchardChristelle Buchard2Franck  DuvalFranck Duval1Frédérique  MahéoFrédérique Mahéo1Ségolène  BuzySégolène Buzy1Anne  Le RalecAnne Le Ralec2Quentin  ChesnaisQuentin Chesnais3Gabin  MardocGabin Mardoc3Véronique  BraultVéronique Brault3Thierry  CandresseThierry Candresse4Julie  JaquiéryJulie Jaquiéry1Amélie  MonteiroAmélie Monteiro5Ghislain  MalatestaGhislain Malatesta6
  • 1INRAE, Institut de Genetique Environnement et Protection des Plantes, Le Rheu, France
  • 2L'Institut Agro, Institut de Genetique Environnement et Protection des Plantes, Le Rheu, France
  • 3Institut National de Recherche pour l'Agriculture l'Alimentation et l'Environnement Centre Grand-Est Colmar, Colmar, France
  • 4Institut National de Recherche pour l'Agriculture l'Alimentation et l'Environnement Centre Nouvelle-Aquitaine Bordeaux, VillenavedOrnon, France
  • 5Institut Technique de la Betterave, Paris, France
  • 6Institut Technique de la Betterave, Laon, France

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

Most phytophagous insect species are specialized to feed on a narrow range of host plants, typically within the same genus or family, and sometimes even on a single plant species. However, some insect taxa are able to feed on plants from different families and are therefore considered to be generalists. Nevertheless, these generalist species can sometimes form cryptic species complexes or differentiate into host-based populations or races. Moreover, the host breadth of generalists is often measured under laboratory conditions, which may not accurately reflect the more challenging natural environments they encounter, and thus may lead to an overestimation of generalism. In this study, we used a population genetics approach to test whether Myzus persicae, a highly polyphagous aphid, is composed of host-specialized populations or clones, or whether generalism is an intrinsic characteristic of the species as a whole. We sampled M. persicae over four consecutive years in northern France from a variety of host plants belonging to different botanical families. We found that populations of M. persicae in northern France were predominantly composed of superclones, namely multilocus genotypes identified in many copies. In particular, four superclones dominated M. persicae populations, occurring in high proportions on a broad range of unrelated host plants in each year of the study. Moreover, the array of characterized genotypes of M. persicae formed distinct genetic clusters, but with no clear association to specific host plants. This study shows that under natural conditions and at the very fine genetic level of a single clone, the generalist characteristic of M. persicae holds. Thus, M. persicae remains an exceptional example of a true generalist species.

Keywords: Herbivorous insects, Host range, Clonal reproduction, Ecological tolerance, Specialization, generalism, Genetic structure

Received: 26 May 2025; Accepted: 30 Jun 2025.

Copyright: © 2025 Simon, Nio, Buchard, Duval, Mahéo, Buzy, Le Ralec, Chesnais, Mardoc, Brault, Candresse, Jaquiéry, Monteiro and Malatesta. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

* Correspondence: Jean-Christophe Simon, INRAE, Institut de Genetique Environnement et Protection des Plantes, Le Rheu, France

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