Genetics of a sex-linked recessive red eye color mutant of the tarnished plant bug, Lygus lineolaris

Abstract

An inbred colony of the tarnished plant bug, Lygus lineolaris (Palisot de Beauvois) (Miridae: Hemiptera), was observed to contain specimens with abnormal traits including red eyes, deform-ed antennae, and deformed legs. These speci-mens were isolated and back crossed to create stable phenotypic strains. The only successful strain established was a red eyed strain named Cardinal. The trait was more prevalent and sta-ble in males, suggesting that it could be sex linked. To test the hypothesis that the trait was based on a recessive sex linked allele, classical genetic crosses were performed. The hypothe-sis was confirmed, and the eye color pheno-type was measured and characterized using color analysis software. The trait is similar to other red eyed phenotypes described in this species, but is clearly based on a different mu-tation since it is sex linked rather than auto-somal. The results of crossing experiments also suggest that inbreeding in this species results in substantial fitness cost to laboratory insects.