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Title: Population variation of the fall armyworm, Spodoptera frugiperda, in the Western Hemisphere

Author
item CLARK, P - UNIVERSITY OF NEBRASKA
item MOLINA-OCHOA, J - UNIVERSIDAD DE COLIMA,MX
item MARTINELLI, S - UNIVERSIDAD DE SAO PAULO,
item Skoda, Steven
item ISENHOUR, D - MONSANTO CO., ST LOUIS,MO
item LEE, D - UNIVERSITY OF NEBRASKA
item KRUMM, J - UNIVERSITY OF NEBRASKA
item FOSTER, J - UNIVERSITY OF NEBRASKA

Submitted to: Journal of Insect Science
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 5/20/2006
Publication Date: 1/25/2007
Citation: Clark, P.L., Molina-Ochoa, J., Martinelli, S., Skoda, S.R., Isenhour, D.J., Lee, D.J., Krumm, J.T., Foster, J.E. 2007. Population variation of the fall armyworm, Spodoptera frugiperda, in the Western Hemisphere [online journal]. Journal of Insect Science 7.05. Available: insectscience.org/7.05.

Interpretive Summary: The fall armyworm (FAW) is the most economically important maize pest in the western hemisphere. Amplified fragment length polymorphism (AFLP) was used to assess the genetic variability of FAW over a large geographic area. We focused on the genetic variability of the maize host strain because there is a lack of information in this area of FAW research. Twenty populations were collected from maize while one population was collected from each of princess tree, lemon tree, and bermudagrass. The 23 populations were from Mexico, the continental United States, Puerto Rico, Brazil, and Argentina. The objective was to evaluate whether the majority of genetic variability was within populations or between populations. AFLP results showed the majority of genetic variability to be within populations and not between populations, indicating minor gene flow and suggesting that FAW in the Western Hemisphere are a major population. This information could help answer questions of whether or not a control method will work on the entire population or only a segment of the population and it could help in tracking genetic changes in populations.

Technical Abstract: Spodoptera frugiperda (J.E. Smith) (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae), the fall armyworm is the most economically important maize pest in the western hemisphere. This research focused on the genetic variability of the maize host strain because there is a lack of information in this area of S. frugiperda research. Amplified fragment length polymorphism (AFLP) was used to assess the genetic variability of S. frugiperda over a large geographic area. Twenty populations were collected from the maize, one population was collected from princess tree, one population was collected from lemon tree, and one population was collected from bermudagrass. The 23 populations were from Mexico, the continental United States, Puerto Rico, Brazil, and Argentina. The objective of this research was to evaluate whether the majority of genetic variability was within populations or between populations. The AFLP results showed that the majority of genetic variability is within populations and not between populations, indicating minor gene flow and suggesting that S. frugiperda in the Western Hemisphere are a major population.