Data from: Movements of genes between populations: are pollinators more effective at transferring their own or plant genetic markers?

The transfer of genes between populations is increasingly important in a world where pollinators are declining, plant and animal populations are increasingly fragmented and climate change is forcing shifts in distribution. The distances that pollen can be transported by small insects are impressive, as is the extensive gene flow between their own populations. We compared the relative ease by which small insects introduce genetic markers into their own and host-plant populations. Gene flow via seeds and pollen between populations of an Asian fig species were evaluated using cpDNA and nuclear DNA markers, and between-population gene flow of its pollinator fig wasp was determined using microsatellites. This insect is the tree's only pollinator locally, and only reproduces in its figs. The plant's pollen-to-seed dispersal ratio was 9.183–9.437, smaller than that recorded for other Ficus. The relative effectiveness of the pollinator at introducing markers into its own populations was higher than the rate it introduced markers into the plant's populations (ratio = 14 : 1), but given the demographic differences between plant and pollinator, pollen transfer effectiveness is remarkably high. Resource availability affects the dispersal of fig wasps, and host-plant flowering phenology here and in other plant–pollinator systems may strongly influence relative gene flow rates.

在传粉者种群持续衰减、动植物种群日益破碎化，且气候变化迫使物种分布范围发生迁移的当下，种群间的基因交流愈发重要。小型昆虫所能承载的花粉传播距离之远令人惊叹，其种群内部的广泛基因流动亦是如此。本研究对比了小型昆虫向自身种群以及寄主植物种群引入遗传标记的相对难易程度。以一种亚洲无花果为研究对象，本研究利用叶绿体DNA（cpDNA）与核DNA标记，评估了其种群间通过种子和花粉实现的基因流动；同时利用微卫星标记（microsatellites），明确了其传粉者榕小蜂的种群间基因流动情况。该榕小蜂是该区域内该榕树唯一的传粉者，且仅能在其榕果内完成繁殖。该植物的花粉-种子传播比为9.183~9.437，低于无花果属（Ficus）其他植物的已有记录值。该传粉者向自身种群引入遗传标记的相对效率，高于其向植物种群引入标记的效率（二者比值为14:1）；但考虑到植物与传粉者之间的种群统计差异，其花粉传播效率仍属极高水平。资源可获得性会影响榕小蜂的扩散行为，而本研究中的寄主植物开花物候，以及其他动植物传粉系统中的寄主开花物候，均可能对相对基因流动速率产生显著影响。