Color polymorphism does not affect species diagnosis of the melon aphid, Aphis gossypii (Hemiptera: Aphididae)
Keywords:
Aphis gossypii, COI, color forms, melon aphid, tRNA/COIIAbstract
The melon aphid, Aphis gossypii Glover (Hemiptera: Aphididae) has become a serious pest of wide spectrum of crops and is considered to be a potential vector of numerous plant pathogenic viruses worldwide. This pest exhibits color polymorphism in which dark green, pale green and yellow forms exist within a single colony on the same plant and also on different host plants. The co-occurrence of different color forms makes species diagnosis and identification of cryptic species difficult, while they have immense importance in quarantine and biosecurity. Therefore, establishing a tool that facilitates quick and accurate identification of A. gossypii is an urgent need. Molecular diagnosis is the most appropriate and becomes handy because it is independent of sex, polymorphism and life stage, and could be effectively used by person with no or little knowledge in aphid taxonomy. In this study, two mitochondrial markers i.e. cytochrome oxidase subunit gene I (COI) and the tRNA-leucine + cytochrome oxidase subunit gene II (tRNA/COII) were tested for species diagnosis. Alignment of partial COI and tRNA/COII sequences from various color forms of A. gossypii collected from 6 different host plants viz., cotton, okra, cucumber, watermelon, aubergine and chili pepper revealed maximum sequence identity (99.7% and 99.4%) suggesting that molecular identification is independent of the color polymorphism in this species. Thus, it is concluded that, color polymorphism does not affect species diagnosis of A. gossypii. The study has unambiguously proved the utility of COI and tRNA/COII for a quick and accurate diagnosis of A. gossypii, which is a critical factor in elucidating virus transmission and implementing biological control.
El afido (pulgon) del melon, Aphis gossypii Glover (Hemiptera: Aphididae) se ha convertido en una plaga grave de un amplio espectro de cultivos y se considera que es un vector potencial de numerosos patogenos virus de plantas en todo el mundo. Esta plaga exhibe un polimorfismo cromatico en el cual existen diferentes formas de color incluyendo verde oscuro, color verde palido y amarillo dentro de una sola colonia en la misma planta y tambien en diferentes plantas hospederas. La co-ocurrencia de formas de diferentes colores hace dificil el diagnostico de la especie y la identificacion de especies cripticas. Las distintas formas de color y posibles especies cripticas tienen una enorme importancia en la cuarentena y bioseguridad. Por lo tanto, el establecimiento de una herramienta que facilita la identificacion rapida y precisa de A. gossypii es una necesidad urgente. A estas alturas, el diagnostico molecular se hace util, ya que es independiente del sexo, polimorfismo y la etapa de la vida, y se podria utilizar con eficacia por un no especialista. En este sentido, se probaron dos marcadores, especificamente el gen I de la subunidad de la citocromo oxidasa (COI) y el gen II de la subunidad oxidasa ARNt-leucina + citocromo (ARNt/COII) para el diagnostico de la especie. La alineacion de las secuencias de COI parcial y ARNt/COII de diversas formas de color de A. gossypii recogidos de 6 plantas hospederas diferentes, especificamente el algodon, okra, pepino, sandia, la berenjena y el chile verde revelo un maximo de identidad de secuencia (99.7% y 99.4%) lo que sugiere que la identificacion molecular es independiente del polimorfismo de color de esta especie especifica. Asi, el polimorfismo de color no afectan el diagnostico de las formas de color de la especie A. gossypii. El estudio ha demostrado de manera inequivoca la utilidad de la COI y ARNt/CO II para el diagnostico rapido y preciso de A. gossypii, que es un factor critico en elucidar la transmision del virus y la implementacion de control biologico.
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