WHO would have thought it? An insect that spends all its time in bed with its siblings enjoys inbreeding.
Coby Schal at North Carolina State University in Raleigh studied the genetic diversity of bedbugs (Cimex lectularius) in US buildings. He found that it was so low that in some cases a building-wide infestation may have originated from one pregnant female.
Inbreeding is usually bad news for offspring because they are more likely to display genetic defects hidden in the recessive genes of their parents. Bedbugs - and a few other insects including cockroaches - are an exception. Some inbred populations may already be on their 70th generation, Schal told a meeting of the American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, last week.
That suggests inbreeding might not be a weakness we can use to eradicate the pests, he says. Rajeev Vaidyanathan at SRI International in Menlo Park, California, agrees. Most people already know the best way to tackle the pests, he says. "I don't want to sound like your mother, but eliminate the clutter in your rooms and vacuum a lot."
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