ARS | Publication request: Genetic variability of bean leaf beetle, Cerotoma trifurcata (Forster), in the Midwestern United States

Submitted to: Entomology Society America Annual Meeting
Publication Type: Other
Publication Acceptance Date: February 27, 2011
Publication Date: N/A

Interpretive Summary: Bean leaf beetle (BLB) is a key pest of soybean in the Midwestern US. Presently there is scant information on genetic structure and gene flow of BLB; This information would be very useful for pest management. Amplified fragment length polymorphism (AFLP) was used to investigates the genetic variability and gene flow of BLB populations in the Midwestern US. Bean leaf beetle populations (25) were collected along 2 transects in the Midwest for this study. Analysis indicated a high degree of genetic variation among the individuals within the groups and low genetic variation among groups, implying high gene flow among the five Midwestern BLB groups studied. This indicates that the BLB populations within the Midwestern US are not genetically different; this is a large, interbreeding (panmictic) population.

Technical Abstract: Bean leaf beetle (BLB) is a key pest of soybean in the Midwestern US. Presently there is scant information on genetic structure and gene flow of BLB; This information would be very useful for pest management. Amplified fragment length polymorphism (AFLP) was used to investigates the genetic variability and gene flow of BLB populations in the Midwestern US. Bean leaf beetle populations (25) were collected along 2 transects in the Midwest for this study. Analysis indicated a high degree of genetic variation among the individuals within the groups and low genetic variation among groups, implying high gene flow among the five Midwestern BLB groups studied. This indicates that the BLB populations within the Midwestern US are not genetically different; this is a large, interbreeding (panmictic) population.