Location: Insect Control and Cotton Disease Research
Project Number: 3091-22000-038-065-I
Project Type: Interagency Reimbursable Agreement
Start Date: Oct 1, 2018
End Date: Sep 30, 2023
Objective:
1) Identify SNP markers which can be used to differentiate the boll weevil, Anthonomus grandis grandis, from other Anthonomus species.
2) Design custom TaqMan SNP genotyping assays to rapid and accurately differentiate Anthonomus species and subspecies.
Approach:
Boll weevils, thurberia weevil, and other weevil species commonly captured in traps will be collected and stored for genomic analysis. DNA will be extracted from all weevils and samples will be prepared for sequencing (library creation and enzyme digestion) on an Illumina Miseq. The subsequent data sets will be analyzed with various genomic software packages (i.e. Genepop) to find SNPs that distinguish the boll weevil from other weevil species. Using this SNP data we will design a custom TaqMan SNP Genotyping Assay to identify the target weevil taxa. We will then validate the new tool across chemistries, instrument platforms, and three independent laboratories to ensure functionality and reliability.