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ARS Home » Northeast Area » Beltsville, Maryland (BARC) » Beltsville Agricultural Research Center » Systematic Entomology Laboratory » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #413169
Research Project: Systematics of Beetles, Flies, Moths and Wasps with an Emphasis on Agricultural Pests, Invasive Species, Biological Control Agents, and Food Security

Location: Systematic Entomology Laboratory

Title: DNA barcoding of the Chestnut gallwasp Dryocosmus kuriphilus Yasumatsu (Hymenoptera: Cynipidae: Cynipini) in the Eastern United States

Author
item TANG, CHANG-TI - George Washington University
item LIANG, YI-SHOU - Institute Of Botany - China
item MAPES, CAROL - Kutztown University
item LILL, J. - George Washington University
item LIU, BING - Institute Of Botany - China
item CLARK, STACY - Us Forest Service (FS)
item LIU, CHENIX - Chinese Academy Of Sciences
item Gates, Michael
item Buffington, Matthew

Submitted to: The Pan-Pacific Entomologist
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 5/1/2024
Publication Date: 12/31/2024
Citation: Tang, C., Liang, Y., Mapes, C., Lill, J.T., Liu, B., Clark, S., Liu, C., Gates, M.W., Buffington, M.L. 2024. DNA barcoding of the Chestnut gallwasp Dryocosmus kuriphilus Yasumatsu (Hymenoptera: Cynipidae: Cynipini) in the Eastern United States. The Pan-Pacific Entomologist. 100(4):289-300. https://doi.org/10.3956/2024-100.4.289.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.3956/2024-100.4.289

Interpretive Summary: The American chestnut, a tree species of major cultural and ecological significance, is functionally extinct in the wild. The USDA has been conducting research for 5 decades on re-introduction of this species, cross-bred with Chinese chestnut. This hybrid is resistant to the blight disease that kills the American chestnut. The chest nut gall wasp, however, feeds on various chestnut species, is invasive in the United States, and may be very destructive to the rehabilitation of the iconic American chestnut. We conducted original research on this invasive wasp, and to our surprise, it appears the wasp invaded once, and not matter where we sampled, populations were genetically identical. This research will be used by the USDA to control this wasp and develop trees that can defend against the wasp.

Technical Abstract: The chestnut gallwasp (CGW), Dryocosmus kuriphilus Yasumatsu, is a globally invasive pest on chestnuts (Castanea spp., Fagaceae). Since its first reported occurrence in Georgia in 1974, CGW has been reported to have spread to 16 additional states in the Eastern United States. Despite its wide occurrence, detailed nvestigations of the invasion and colonization history of CGW have not been conducted. To address this shortcoming, we screened one mitochondrial (cytochrome c oxidase subunit 1; COI) and one nuclear gene (internal transcribed spacer 2; ITS2) to examine the genetic variation across four discrete CGW populations from four states (New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Maryland, Tennessee). We tested whether CGW in the Eastern US originated from one or multiple introductions followed by subsequent dispersal. Additional insights came from comparing the sequences with two populations of CGW sampled from its native range in mainland China, and one population each from Taiwan and Japan. Sequences revealed that both genes exhibit the same haplotype across all sampled specimens of all locations. The haplotype of COI in this study is the dominant haplotype recorded in mainland China, while the haplotype of ITS2 has been reported in both Japan and Europe. The uniformity of genetic structure suggests that CGW invasion in the US could have either single or multiple origins, or both, accompanied with the common haplotype on each occasion. Further insights into the invasion history and expansion of CGW in the US will require a combination of sampling more populations and utilizing a next generation sequencing strategy.