Haplotype Profile Comparisons Between Spodoptera frugiperda (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) Populations From Mexico With Those From Puerto Rico, South America, and the United States and Their Implications to Migratory Behavior

Abstract

Fall armyworm [Spodoptera frugiperda (J. E. Smith)] is a major economic pest throughout the Western Hemisphere of maize, cotton, sorghum, and a variety of agricultural grasses and vegetable crops. Previous studies demonstrated extensive annual migrations occurring as far north as Canada from overwintering locations in southern Florida and Texas. In contrast, migratory behavior in the rest of the hemisphere is largely uncharacterized. Understanding the migration patterns of fall armyworm will facilitate efforts to predict the spread of pesticide resistance traits that repeatedly arise in this species and assess the consequences of changing climatic trends on the infestation range. Four independent fall armyworm colonies derived from widely separated populations in Mexico and two field collections were examined for their mitochondrial cytochrome oxidase I (COI) gene haplotypes and compared with other locations. The Mexico populations were most similar in their haplotype profile to those from Texas and South America, but also displayed some distinctive features. The data extend the haplotype distribution map in the Western Hemisphere and confirm that the previously observed regional differences in haplotype frequencies are stable over time. The Mexico collections were associated with haplotypes rarely found elsewhere, suggesting limited migratory interactions with foreign populations, including those in neighboring Texas.

Comparative molecular analyses of invasive fall armyworm in Togo reveal strong similarities to populations from the eastern United States and the Greater Antilles

“…Corn-strain CO1 haplotypes derived from polymorphisms at sites CO1 1164 and CO1 1287 were shown to differ in frequency between geographically distinct subpopulations in the Western Hemisphere, designated the FL-type and TX-type [28, 29, 39]. This makes it possible to estimate which region is the most likely originating source of the Togo infestation.…”

“…This haplotype distribution difference is sufficiently reproducible to allow mapping of the migratory populations that emanate from the two overwintering locations [28]. Overall, the TX haplotype profile is found throughout most of the Western Hemisphere, with the FL profile limited to the eastern coast of the U.S. from Maryland to Florida and extending southward to Puerto Rico and the Lesser Antilles [29–31]. Analogous haplotype differences for the rice-strain have not yet been found, so it is unclear whether this group shows a similar geographical distribution.…”

Comparison of pheromone trap design and lures for Spodoptera frugiperda in Togo and genetic characterization of moths caught

“…Larvae 74 (Nagoshi et al, , 2015, Texas, USA (TX) (Nagoshi et al, 2011), Florida, USA (FL) (Nagoshi et al, 2011), Puerto Rico (PR) (Nagoshi et al, 2015), Togo 2016 (larvae) (Nagoshi et al, 2017b), and Togo 2017 (traps) from this paper.…”

Inheritance and fitness costs of Spodoptera frugiperda (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) resistance to spinosad in Brazil

“…In Brazil, it is considered one of the most destructive pests of maize and cotton . The success of S. frugiperda as a pest species is attributed to biological characteristics such as polyphagia, adult dispersion, high reproductive capacity and the production of several generations per year …”

“…2 The success of S. frugiperda as a pest species is attributed to biological characteristics such as polyphagia, adult dispersion, high reproductive capacity and the production of several generations per year. 2,3 In Brazil, the use of chemical insecticides and transgenic plants that express Bacillus thuringiensis proteins (Bt plants) has been the main tactic to control this pest in maize. Spinosad, an allosteric modulator of nicotinic acetylcholine receptors, is one of the most important insecticides used against S. frugiperda.…”