ARS | Publication request: GEOGRAPHIC AND VOLTINISM DIFFERENTIATION AMONG NORTH AMERICAN OSTRINIA NUBILALIS (EUROPEAN CORN BORER) MITOCHONDRIAL CYTOCHROME C OXIDASE HAPLOTYPES

Submitted to: Journal of Insect Science
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: August 3, 2004
Publication Date: November 2, 2004
Citation: Coates, B.S., Sumerford, D.V., Hellmich II, R.L. 2004. Geographic and voltinism differentiation among North American Ostrinia nubilalis (European corn borer) mitochondrial cytochrome c oxidase haplotypes. Journal of Insect Science. 4:35:1-9.

Interpretive Summary: The European corn borer is an important pest of corn in the United States and Europe. Studies were conducted to evaluate genetic differences between various North American populations that will help scientists better understand the movement of this pest. Two genes from the European corn borer were sequenced. Mutations were found that were useful in testing similarity of various populations of European corn borer. Results suggest that genetic differences are present in some North American populations of European corn borer. This information allows scientists to study gene flow between corn borer populations across North America and will be useful for scientists and producers interested in controlling economic levels of damage from this corn pest.

Technical Abstract: A 2,345-bp contiguous sequence of the European corn borer, Ostrinia nubilalis, mitochondrial genome, containing complete cytochrome c oxidase subunits I (COI) and II (COII) coding regions, and the tRNA-Leu gene, was generated with overlapping polymerase chain reaction (PCR) amplified fragments. Alignment of nucleotide sequence data identified six point mutations within the 1,545-bp COI gene, and four within the 687-bp COII gene. Polymerase chain reaction restriction endonuclease fragment length polymorphism (PCR-RFLP) verified the presence of a COI point mutation at position 1119 (COI-1119) within a HaeIII recognition site, and a Sau3AI cleavage site mutation at COII position 11 (COII-11). The frequencies of COI-1119 and COII-11 mutations were determined within seven randomly sampled North American subpopulations of O. nubilalis. Pairwise Fst values indicated that significant COII-11 allelic frequency variance was present between subpopulations. Moderate gene flow may exist between distinct Nort American subpopulations, where random genetic drift at mitochondrial loci have the potential to establish allelic frequency differences.