Consistent variations in personality traits and their potential for genetic improvement in biocontrol agents: as a case study.

Improvements in the biological control of agricultural pests require improvements in the phenotyping methods used by practitioners to select efficient biological control agent (BCA) populations in industrial rearing or field conditions. Consistent inter-individual variations in behaviour (i.e.

Parasitoids (Hymenoptera) of Mealybug Pests (Hemiptera: Pseudococcidae) from Southern Brazil: Molecular and Morphological Characterization.

Parasitoids of three mealybug pests (Hemiptera: Pseudococcidae), Planococcus ficus (Signoret), Pseudococcus sociabilis Hambleton, and Pseudococcus viburni (Signoret) have been identified for the first time in Brazil. Mealybugs were collected in fruit-growing areas along southern Brazil during 2013-2016. An integrative approach, combining morphological and molecular methods, was used to identify the Brazilian parasitoids to the species level.

Rapid and Differential Evolution of the Venom Composition of a Parasitoid Wasp Depending on the Host Strain.

Parasitoid wasps rely primarily on venom to suppress the immune response and regulate the physiology of their host. Intraspecific variability of venom protein composition has been documented in some species, but its evolutionary potential is poorly understood. We performed an experimental evolution initiated with the crosses of two lines of of different venom composition to generate variability and create new combinations of venom factors.

Natural enemies of armored scales (Hemiptera: Diaspididae) and soft scales (Hemiptera: Coccidae) in Chile: Molecular and morphological identification.

Scale insects (Hemiptera: Sternorrhyncha: Coccomorpha) are key pests of agricultural crops and ornamental plants worldwide. Their populations are difficult to control, even with insecticides, due to their cryptic habits. Moreover, there is growing concern over the use of synthetic pesticides for their control, due to deleterious environmental effects and the emergence of resistant populations of target pests.

Effects of inbreeding on a gregarious parasitoid wasp with complementary sex determination.

Inbreeding and inbreeding depression are processes in small populations of particular interest for a range of human activities such as animal breeding, species conservation, or pest management. In particular, biological control programs should benefit from a thorough understanding of the causes and consequences of inbreeding because natural enemies experience repetitive bottlenecks during importation, laboratory rearing, and introduction. Predicting the effect of inbreeding in hymenopteran parasitoid wasps, frequently used in biological control programs, is nonetheless a difficult endeavor.

Integrative taxonomy methods reveal high mealybug (Hemiptera: Pseudococcidae) diversity in southern Brazilian fruit crops.

The Serra Gaúcha region is the most important temperate fruit-producing area in southern Brazil. Despite mealybugs (Hemiptera: Pseudococcidae) infesting several host plants in the region, there is a lack of information about the composition of species damaging different crops. A survey of mealybug species associated with commercial fruit crops (apple, persimmon, strawberry and grapes) was performed in Serra Gaúcha between 2013 and 2015, using both morphology and DNA analyses for species identification.

No inbreeding depression in laboratory-reared individuals of the parasitoid wasp .

Inbreeding depression is a major concern in almost all human activities relating to plant and animal breeding. The biological control of pests with natural enemies is no exception, because populations of biocontrol agents experience a series of bottlenecks during importation, rearing, and introduction. A classical biological control program for the Comstock mealybug (Hemiptera: Pseudococcidae) was initiated in France in 2008, based on the introduction of an exotic parasitoid, Mues.

Diploid male production correlates with genetic diversity in the parasitoid wasp : a genetic approach with new microsatellite markers.

Sex determination is ruled by haplodiploidy in Hymenoptera, with haploid males arising from unfertilized eggs and diploid females from fertilized eggs. However, diploid males with null fitness are produced under complementary sex determination (CSD), when individuals are homozygous for this locus. Diploid males are expected to be more frequent in genetically eroded populations (such as islands and captive populations), as genetic diversity at the locus should be low.

Identifying obstacles and ranking common biological control research priorities for Europe to manage most economically important pests in arable, vegetable and perennial crops.

EU agriculture is currently in transition from conventional crop protection to integrated pest management (IPM). Because biocontrol is a key component of IPM, many European countries recently have intensified their national efforts on biocontrol research and innovation (R&I), although such initiatives are often fragmented. The operational outputs of national efforts would benefit from closer collaboration among stakeholders via transnationally coordinated approaches, as most economically important pests are similar across Europe.

Three new species of mealybug (Hemiptera, Coccomorpha, Pseudococcidae) on persimmon fruit trees (Diospyros kaki) in southern Brazil.

Brazil has the greatest insect diversity in the world; however, little is known about its scale insect species (Hemiptera: Coccomorpha). Mealybugs (Pseudococcidae) have been found in at least 50% of persimmon orchards Diospyros kaki L. in the southern part of the country.

Mealybug species from Chilean agricultural landscapes and main factors influencing the genetic structure of Pseudococcus viburni.

The present study aimed to characterize the distribution of mealybug species along Chilean agro-ecosystems and to determine the relative impact of host plant, management strategy, geography and micro-environment on shaping the distribution and genetic structure of the obscure mealybug Pseudococcus viburni. An extensive survey was completed using DNA barcoding methods to identify Chilean mealybugs to the species level. Moreover, a fine-scale study of Ps.

Guiding Classical Biological Control of an Invasive Mealybug Using Integrative Taxonomy.

Delottococcus aberiae De Lotto (Hemiptera: Pseudococcidae) is a mealybug of Southern African origin that has recently been introduced into Eastern Spain. It causes severe distortions on young citrus fruits and represents a growing threat to Mediterranean citrus production. So far, biological control has proven unsatisfactory due to the absence of efficient natural enemies in Spain.

Development of 23 polymorphic microsatellite loci in invasive silver wattle, Acacia dealbata (Fabaceae).

Premise Of The Study: Microsatellite markers were developed for silver wattle, Acacia dealbata (Fabaceae), which is both an ornamental and an invasive weed species. It is native to southeastern Australia and invasive in Europe, Africa, Asia, and the Americas.

Methods And Results: The pyrosequencing of a microsatellite-enriched genomic DNA library of A.

Complementarity of statistical treatments to reconstruct worldwide routes of invasion: the case of the Asian ladybird Harmonia axyridis.

Inferences about introduction histories of invasive species remain challenging because of the stochastic demographic processes involved. Approximate Bayesian computation (ABC) can help to overcome these problems, but such method requires a prior understanding of population structure over the study area, necessitating the use of alternative methods and an intense sampling design. In this study, we made inferences about the worldwide invasion history of the ladybird Harmonia axyridis by various population genetics statistical methods, using a large set of sampling sites distributed over most of the species' native and invaded areas.

Molecular and morphological identification of mealybug species (Hemiptera: Pseudococcidae) in Brazilian vineyards.

Mealybugs (Hemiptera: Pseudococcidae) are pests constraining the international trade of Brazilian table grapes. They damage grapes by transmitting viruses and toxins, causing defoliation, chlorosis, and vigor losses and favoring the development of sooty mold. Difficulties in mealybug identification remain an obstacle to the adequate management of these pests.

SP-Designer: a user-friendly program for designing species-specific primer pairs from DNA sequence alignments.

SP-Designer is an open-source program providing a user-friendly tool for the design of specific PCR primer pairs from a DNA sequence alignment containing sequences from various taxa. SP-Designer selects PCR primer pairs for the amplification of DNA from a target species on the basis of several criteria: (i) primer specificity, as assessed by interspecific sequence polymorphism in the annealing regions, (ii) the biochemical characteristics of the primers and (iii) the intended PCR conditions. SP-Designer generates tables, detailing the primer pair and PCR characteristics, and a FASTA file locating the primer sequences in the original sequence alignment.

The biology of small, introduced populations, with special reference to biological control.

Populations are introduced into novel environments in different contexts, one being the biological control of pests. Despite intense efforts, less than half introduced biological control agents establish. Among the possible approaches to improve biological control, one is to better understand the processes that underpin introductions and contribute to ecological and evolutionary success.

Effects of azadirachtin on Tetranychus urticae (Acari: Tetranychidae) and its compatibility with predatory mites (Acari: Phytoseiidae) on strawberry.

Background: The spider mite, Tetranychus urticae, is the major strawberry pest in Brazil. The main strategies for its control comprise synthetic acaricides and predatory mites. The recent register of a commercial formula of azadirachtin (Azamax(®) 12 g L(-1) ) can be viable for control of T.

Permanent genetic resources added to Molecular Ecology Resources Database 1 August 2011-30 September 2011.

This article documents the addition of 299 microsatellite marker loci and nine pairs of single-nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) EPIC primers to the Molecular Ecology Resources (MER) Database. Loci were developed for the following species: Alosa pseudoharengus, Alosa aestivalis, Aphis spiraecola, Argopecten purpuratus, Coreoleuciscus splendidus, Garra gotyla, Hippodamia convergens, Linnaea borealis, Menippe mercenaria, Menippe adina, Parus major, Pinus densiflora, Portunus trituberculatus, Procontarinia mangiferae, Rhynchophorus ferrugineus, Schizothorax richardsonii, Scophthalmus rhombus, Tetraponera aethiops, Thaumetopoea pityocampa, Tuta absoluta and Ugni molinae. These loci were cross-tested on the following species: Barilius bendelisis, Chiromantes haematocheir, Eriocheir sinensis, Eucalyptus camaldulensis, Eucalyptus cladocalix, Eucalyptus globulus, Garra litaninsis vishwanath, Garra para lissorhynchus, Guindilla trinervis, Hemigrapsus sanguineus, Luma chequen.

High-throughput microsatellite isolation through 454 GS-FLX Titanium pyrosequencing of enriched DNA libraries.

Microsatellites (or SSRs: simple sequence repeats) are among the most frequently used DNA markers in many areas of research. The use of microsatellite markers is limited by the difficulties involved in their de novo isolation from species for which no genomic resources are available. We describe here a high-throughput method for isolating microsatellite markers based on coupling multiplex microsatellite enrichment and next-generation sequencing on 454 GS-FLX Titanium platforms.

Accuracy and quality assessment of 454 GS-FLX Titanium pyrosequencing.

Background: The rapid evolution of 454 GS-FLX sequencing technology has not been accompanied by a reassessment of the quality and accuracy of the sequences obtained. Current strategies for decision-making and error-correction are based on an initial analysis by Huse et al. in 2007, for the older GS20 system based on experimental sequences.

Permanent Genetic Resources added to Molecular Ecology Resources Database 1 June 2010 - 31 July 2010.

This article documents the addition of 205 microsatellite marker loci to the Molecular Ecology Resources Database. Loci were developed for the following species: Bagassa guianensis, Bulweria bulwerii, Camelus bactrianus, Chaenogobius annularis, Creontiades dilutus, Diachasmimorpha tryoni, Dioscorea alata, Euhrychiopsis lecontei, Gmelina arborea, Haliotis discus hannai, Hirtella physophora, Melanaphis sacchari, Munida isos, Thaumastocoris peregrinus and Tuberolachnus salignus. These loci were cross-tested on the following species: Halobaena caerulea, Procellaria aequinoctialis, Oceanodroma monteiroi, Camelus ferus, Creontiades pacificus, Dioscorea rotundata, Dioscorea praehensilis, Dioscorea abyssinica, Dioscorea nummularia, Dioscorea transversa, Dioscorea esculenta, Dioscorea pentaphylla, Dioscorea trifida, Hirtella bicornis, Hirtella glandulosa, Licania alba, Licania canescens, Licania membranaceae, Couepia guianensis and 7 undescribed Thaumastocoris species.

Scanning the European corn borer (Ostrinia spp.) genome for adaptive divergence between host-affiliated sibling species.

It has recently been shown that the European corn borer, a major pest of maize crops, is actually composed of two genetically differentiated and reproductively isolated taxa, which are found in sympatry over a wide geographical range in Eurasia. Each taxon is adapted to specific host plants: Ostrinia nubilalis feeds mainly on maize, while O. scapulalis feeds mainly on hop or mugwort.

Genome-wide survey and analysis of microsatellites in nematodes, with a focus on the plant-parasitic species Meloidogyne incognita.

Background: Microsatellites are the most popular source of molecular markers for studying population genetic variation in eukaryotes. However, few data are currently available about their genomic distribution and abundance across the phylum Nematoda. The recent completion of the genomes of several nematode species, including Meloidogyne incognita, a major agricultural pest worldwide, now opens the way for a comparative survey and analysis of microsatellites in these organisms.