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Population structure of the German cockroach, Blattella germanica, shows two expansions across China

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Abstract

The German cockroach is one of the world’s most widespread invasive species. From uncertain origins, it appears in historical records in Europe over 300 years ago, with the first records in China date from 100 years ago. Since the 1990s, the German cockroach has dominated indoor environments across China. A genetic analysis of 599 individuals from nine cities across China found two genetic clusters; one dominant in the North and the other dominant the in South of the country. Weak but significantly positive isolation by distance was observed for the entire country; however, when broken into different geographical scales, the significantly positive correlation can be only observed in between cities or city to suburb range (10–221 km). Two factors may have contributed to the spread of the German cockroach in China, which correspond to these two clusters: central heating systems in the north built during the 1960s, and air-conditioning systems in the south built during in the 1990s. The spread of modern, long distance transport systems, such as railways, may have contributed to the lack of geographic patterns, yet it is likely that other factors have been important in determining patterns.

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Acknowledgments

For providing samples, we thank Tan Eng Kooi, Bayer Singapore, Singapore; Wu Xifeng, Shenyang; Mr. Nan, Sinopest Co. Ltd, Beijing; Wang Jiansheng, Best Pest Control Co. Ltd., Nanjing; Mo Yuan, Chongqing; Pan Qiang, Huaguan Pest Control Co. Ltd., Guangzhou. This work is supported by NUS (National University of Singapore, Singapore) Research Scholarship from Ministry of Education, Singapore and the Lee Hiok Kwee Endowed Fund of the Department of Biological Sciences, National University of Singapore, Singapore. Thomas Bourguignon was supported by a postdoctoral fellowship from the University of Sydney.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Biological Sciences, National University of Singapore, Singapore, 117543, Singapore

    Qian Tang, Thomas Bourguignon & Theodore Alfred Evans

  2. 38 College Avenue East, #04-263, Singapore, 138601, Singapore

    Qian Tang

  3. Department of Medical Parasitology, School of Basic Medicine Science, Wuhan University, Wuhan, 430072, Hubei province, People’s Republic of China

    Hong Jiang

  4. Department of Genetics, College of Life Sciences, Wuhan University, Wuhan, 430072, Hubei province, People’s Republic of China

    Yangsheng Li

  5. School of Life and Environmental Sciences, University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW, 2006, Australia

    Thomas Bourguignon

  6. School of Animal Biology, University of Western Australia, Perth, WA, 6009, Australia

    Theodore Alfred Evans

  7. Faculty of Forestry and Wood Sciences, Czech University of Life Sciences, Prague, Czech Republic

    Thomas Bourguignon

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  1. Qian Tang
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Correspondence to Qian Tang.

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Tang, Q., Jiang, H., Li, Y. et al. Population structure of the German cockroach, Blattella germanica, shows two expansions across China. Biol Invasions 18, 2391–2402 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10530-016-1170-x

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