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ARS Home » Southeast Area » Stoneville, Mississippi » Genomics and Bioinformatics Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #256129
Title: First microsatellites developed from Spodoptera frugiperda and their potential use for population genetics

Author
item Arias De Ares, Renee
item Blanco, Carlos
item Portilla, Maribel
item Snodgrass, Gordon
item Scheffler, Brian

Submitted to: Entomology Society America Annual Meeting
Publication Type: Abstract Only
Publication Acceptance Date: 1/17/2011
Publication Date: 5/16/2011
Citation: Arias De Ares, R.S., Blanco, C.A., Portilla, M., Snodgrass, G.L., Scheffler, B.E. 2011. First microsatellites developed from Spodoptera frugiperda and their potential use for population genetics. Entomology Society America Annual Meeting. 104(3):516-587.

Interpretive Summary: Fall Armyworm is an important pest of corn and other crops where it can cause economic losses of up to 70%. Some populations of this insect, mainly from Puerto Rico have shown resistance to the toxin used its control. In order to implement better control practices of this pest, is important to understand migration patterns, potential crosses among populations, and the genetic variability of this insect. We have developed 180 molecular markers that will effectively assist in those type of studies.

Technical Abstract: This is the first report of sequence-specific microsatellite markers (SSRs) of Spodoptera frugiperda (Smith) (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae), an economically important pest of the American continent. We developed 178 microsatellite markers using pyrosequencing, and screened 15 individuals from 8 colonies collected from three geographical areas, Puerto Rico (PR), Texas (TX) and Mississippi (MS), including Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) resistant and susceptible colonies. Cluster analysis was performed to determine the potential use of these SSRs in discriminating populations. SSR polymorphism grouped individuals of each colony together with a reliability of 100% estimated by bootstrap. In this analysis, colonies from TX grouped away from those from PR, but the two MS colonies grouped with TX and PR separately. Genetic distance between individuals of the same colony ranged between 0.22 and 0.56, whereas minimum genetic distance between colonies was 0.83. Unique pattern informative combination (UPIC) scores were calculated, and the 80 SSR markers that had UPIC scores of 1 or higher are listed according to their discriminating potential. UPIC scores allow choosing combinations of few highly informative markers for future studies. Heterozygosity of S. frugiperda individuals, estimated as the percentage of multiallelic loci based on 120 SSR markers, ranged between 35 and 59 %, with a difference of 2-15% between individuals of the same population. The markers reported here effectively identified the eight colonies of S. frugiperda tested. In addition, they could be used for monitoring migration of populations, in the development of biocontrol agents, in breeding programs, and for management practices in general.