Population Genetic Structure of <I>Pseudatomoscelis seriatus</I> (Hemiptera: Miridae) in the Cotton-Growing Regions of the United States

Abstract

The cotton fleahopper, Pseudatomoscelis seriatus (Reuter) (Hemiptera: Miridae) is an economically important insect pest of cotton in the United States. However, reports of cotton fleahopper infestation and its management in cotton fields are restricted primarily to Texas, Oklahoma, and Arkansas. The objective of this study was to understand the genetic diversity of cotton fleahopper populations infesting cotton in the cotton-growing areas of the United States. Amplified fragment length polymorphism markers were used to detect genetic diversity and to characterize geographic genotypes across the distribution of the cotton fleahopper in the United States. We used 172 individuals and 559 amplified fragment length polymorphism loci in this study and found significant, but low, level of genetic differentiation among geographic populations (F(ST) = 0.02; P < 0.0001). Molecular fingerprints of cotton fleahopper populations were partitioned into three broad regional genetic populations with a western, central, and eastern distribution. The western (Arizona) and eastern (Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, and North Carolina) populations are genetically distinct, whereas the central (Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Mississippi, Louisiana, and Alabama) population represents an admixed population, which include both western and eastern populations. These results suggest considerable gene flow among the populations within regions but restricted gene flow among populations from eastern and western region.

Genetic Diversity in Apple Fruit Moth Indicate Different Clusters in the Two Most Important Apple Growing Regions of Norway

“…In addition, moderate to high gene flow was observed among populations within each of the two major region in Southern Norway, indicating that A. conjugella show medium to short distance migration. Similarly, the cotton flea-hopper's (Hemiptera: Miridae) western populations in USA are genetically distinct from eastern populations, but with considerable gene flow among the populations within each region [25]. Gene flow in the west indicate a total contact between the three sampling locations probably as a result of very small geographical distances, while in the East the gene flow value (~2) may indicate some structuring among the three sampling locations maybe as a result of longer distances and IBD.…”

“…As an example, AFLP analysis was used to study genetic structure of Spodoptera frugiperda populations associated with maize and cotton crops in Brazil [22]. In USA, the technique was applied to detect; high gene flow in Ostrinia nubilalis collected from maize fields [23], significant genetic differentiation of Podisus maculiventris populations, which is an economical important biological control agent [24] and high genetic variation among regions of the important pest Pseudatomoscelis seriatus from cotton fields [25]. In Spain, backcross hybrid between Drosophila buzzatii and Drosophila koepferae species was detected using AFLP [26].…”

The Effects of Locality and Host Plant on the Body Size of Aeolothrips intermedius (Thysanoptera: Aeolothripidae) in the Southwest of Poland

“…The genetic variability in insects occurs mostly in the large geographical scale. This was found for the peach fruit moth Carposina sasakii [14] or Pseudatomoscelis seriatus [15], both in China. On the other hand, the host plant plays the critical role in the genetic variation of the fly Bactrocera tau [16] and green citrus aphid Aphis spiraecola [17].…”

Amplicon Sequencing of Plant Material Links Cotton Fleahopper to Host Plants

“…More recently, the CFH has consistently ranked between fourth and sixth most important among cotton pests (Williams, 2000(Williams, -2017, despite cotton not being a preferred host (Reinhard, 1926;Holtzer and Sterling, 1980). The CFH is found throughout most of the U.S. but tends only to be an economic pest of cotton in Texas, Oklahoma, and Arkansas (Barman et al, 2013). The CFH is a multivoltine insect (Parencia, 1978), feeding and reproducing on many different seasonal hosts throughout the year.…”