Submitted to: CRC Press
Publication Type: Book / Chapter
Publication Acceptance Date: July 23, 1999
Publication Date: N/A
Interpretive Summary: The Tephritidae (true fruit flies) is one of the most agriculturally important families of flies. It includes numerous pests, such as the Mediterranean fruit fly and the apple maggot. The majority of species that are pests in the American tropics and subtropics, and that threaten fruit industries in the southern United States, belong to the genera Anastrepha and Toxotrypana, which together include more than 200 species. In this paper, the evolutionary relationships among these species are studied by analyzing DNA sequences from 43 species representing most of the species groups that have been recognized. Knowledge of these relationships is valuable to ARS and other scientists studying the behavior, biology and control of these species. Such relationships may be used to predict unknown information (e.g., host plants or behavior of species whose biology is unknown) and to reveal patterns in various biological attributes that may be useful in the control or regulation of pest or potential pest species. This information will be useful to insect identifiers, pest managers, and others working on fruit fly control programs.
Technical Abstract:
Phylogenetic relationships are analyzed based on mitochondrial DNA sequences from 43 species of Anastrepha and Toxotrypana, representing 14 of the 18 species groups of the former and 1 species group of the latter genus. Results support the monophyly of Toxotrypana, but indicate that Anastrepha may be paraphyletic. The following species groups or groups of species groups within Anastrepha were also supported as monophyletic; daciformis group; dentata + daciformis groups, serpentina group; striata group; fraterculus group; and pseudoparallela + spatulata + grandis + serpentina + striata + fraterculus groups. The cryptostrepha, mucronota, pseudoparallela and spatulata groups were not supported.
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