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ARS Home » Plains Area » Fargo, North Dakota » Edward T. Schafer Agricultural Research Center » Insect Genetics and Biochemistry Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #120138

Title: MICROHYMENOPTERAN INSECT SPECIES AS BIOCONTROL AGENTS FOR SILVERLEAF WHITEFLY: DIFFERENTIATION BY USE OF HYBRIDIZATION PROBES DIRECTED AT HIGHLY REPEATED SATELLITE DNA SEQUENCES

Author
item ZHANG, JIANZHONG - NORTH DAKOTA STATE UNIV
item OLESON, ARLAND - NORTH DAKOTA STATE UNIV
item HEILMANN, LARRY - USDA-ARS, RETIRED
item Nelson, Dennis

Submitted to: Silverleaf Whitefly Research, Action and Technology Transfer Plan
Publication Type: Abstract Only
Publication Acceptance Date: 1/30/2001
Publication Date: N/A
Citation: N/A

Interpretive Summary:

Technical Abstract: Highly repetitive satellite DNAs are used as hybridization targets for identification of insect species. We studied 5 Eretmocerus species (E. hayati, Pakistan; E. emiratus, United Arab Emirates; E. mundus, Spain; E. sp., Ethiopia; and E. eremicus, USA) and 3 Encarsia species (E. formosa, Egypt; E. sophia, Thailand; and E. pergandiella, USA); The 8 major species indigenous or released for biocontrol in the Southwestern United States. Species-specific probes were obtained for E. eremicus, E. formosa, and E. sophia with repeat sizes of 143, 33, and 120 bp, respectively, and comprising 2%, 7%, and 1% of the wasp genome, respectively. A cloned 260-bp sequence from E. hayati comprising 1.5% of the genome cross reacted at low level (3%) only with E. emiratus. A 172- bp sequence from E. mundus has applications as a non-native selective probe. No hybridization signal was displayed by E. eremicus, but all other Eretmocerus species gave strong signals. This sequence represents 2.5% of the E. mundus genome, and was the most common clone recovered from the E. sp. (Ethiopian) library. The latter library also yielded a clone of a 185-bp moderately repeated element (0.15% of genome) that hybridized strongly with E. sp. (Ethiopian) and E.emiratus, weakly (6% relative signal) with E. mundus and E. hayati, but not with E. eremicus.