PALEOENVIRONMENT PLAYED KEY ROLE FOR THE ANATOLIAN POPULATIONS OF CYNIPS DIVISA (HYMENOPTERA: CYNIPIDAE)

Red-pea gall wasp, Cynips divisa, is an oak- dependent species with a wide distribution range in the Western Palearctic. In this study, we aimed to investigate the genetic diversity of the species across Anatolia and reveal possible factors that governed its contemporary phylogeographic pattern. For this purpose, we sequenced 433 base pairs of mitochondrial cytochrome b gene and the entire nuclear ITS2 region of 278 individuals collected from 22 localities. Our sequence data generated 115 cyt b haplotypes and 15 ITS2 alleles. Estimated genetic diversity for the species was well within the limits of other gall wasp species. Phylogenetic analysis pointed to a separation of C. divisa from outgroups around the Pliocene. Diversification estimates of main haplogroups show signals of major lineage divergences through the Quaternary period. Moreover, splits resulted in more shallow structuring during the last 780.000 years appear to play a key role in the geographic distribution of genetic diversity of red-pea gall wasp species in Anatolia. Our current results support the general view that phylogeography of the Anatolian cynipids has been mainly shaped in a period spanning the last few million years due mostly to changing paleoenvironmental conditions of the area.