Chemical and population data for Nasonia vitripennnis females collected from the Hoge Veluwe

AbstractEcotypes, strains locally adapted to divergent ecological conditions, are often considered to be the first steps in sympatric speciation. It has been suggested that two distinguishable ecotypes hint at incipient sympatric speciation in Nasonia vitripennis, the prominent model organism for parasitoid wasps, with one ecotype parasitizing fly pupae in bird nests, and the other parasitizing fly pupae on carrion. In the present study, we investigated the differentiation into these two distinct ecotypes on a population genetic and on a phenotypic level in a wild N. vitripennis population in the Netherlands. Isofemale lines were obtained from bird nest boxes and from deer carrion, respectively, representing both microhabitats. Using a panel of 14 microsatellites, we determined the population genetic structure and tested for genetic differentiation between the foundresses obtained from both microhabitats. To test for phenotypic differentiation, we determined the cuticular hydrocarbon (CHC) profiles from wasps of both microhabitats. Both the genetic and the phenotypic datasets show no evidence for any kind of separation based on the postulated two ecotypes, but rather suggest free interbreeding with no gene flow interruption between the two distinct host patches. This challenges previous assumptions on distinguishable ecotypes in N. vitripennis, and invites a re-evaluation of potential ecological speciation mechanisms in parasitoid wasps. This dataset contains:1) microsatellite data for 14 loci 25 N. vitripennis females collected in 2018 in the Hoge Veluwe in The Netherlands (HV2018_MicrosatelliteDataset.csv)2) Raw data of GC-MS profiles of cuticular hydrocarbon (CHC) of N.vitripennis males and females from iso-female lines collected in 2018 in the Hoge Veluwe in The Netherlands (HV2018_CHC_RawData.tar) and an overview (HV2018_GCMS_Data.csv).

生态型（Ecotype）是指局部适应于不同生态环境的种群类群，通常被认为是同域物种形成的初始阶段。作为寄生蜂类的经典模式生物——丽蝇蛹集金小蜂（Nasonia vitripennis），此前有研究提出该物种中存在两种可区分的生态型，暗示其正处于同域物种形成的早期阶段：一种生态型寄居于鸟巢中的蝇蛹，另一种则寄居于腐尸上的蝇蛹。
本研究以荷兰野外的丽蝇蛹集金小蜂种群为对象，从种群遗传学与表型两个层面，探究该物种向这两种不同生态型的分化情况。研究分别从鸟巢箱与鹿类腐尸这两类微生境中采集得到单雌系材料。本研究利用14个微卫星标记（microsatellites），解析了该种群的遗传结构，并检验了两类微生境来源的建群雌蜂之间的遗传分化。为检测表型分化，本研究对两类微生境来源的金小蜂个体的表皮碳氢化合物（CHC）谱进行了分析。
遗传与表型数据集均未发现支持两种推定生态型分化的证据，反而表明两类寄主微生境之间不存在基因流阻断，种群间存在自由交配。该结果对此前关于丽蝇蛹集金小蜂存在可区分生态型的假设提出了挑战，并呼吁重新评估寄生蜂类群中潜在的生态物种形成机制。
本数据集包含以下内容：
1) 2018年于荷兰霍格维卢威国家公园（Hoge Veluwe）采集的25头丽蝇蛹集金小蜂雌蜂的14个微卫星位点数据（HV2018_MicrosatelliteDataset.csv）；
2) 2018年于荷兰霍格维卢威国家公园采集的单雌系丽蝇蛹集金小蜂雌雄个体的表皮碳氢化合物气相色谱-质谱（GC-MS）原始数据（HV2018_CHC_RawData.tar）及数据概览表（HV2018_GCMS_Data.csv）。