Molecular differences in the mitochondrial cytochrome oxidase I (mtCOI) gene and development of species-specific marker for onion thrips, Thrips tabaci Lindeman, and melon thrips, T. palmi Karny (Thysanoptera: Thripidae), vectors of tospoviruses (Bunyaviridae)

• Published in: Bulletin of entomological research Vol. 97; no. 5; pp. 461 - 470
• Main Authors: Asokan, R, Kumar, N.K.K, Kumar, V, Ranganath, H.R
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Cambridge, UK Cambridge University Press 01.10.2007
• Subjects: Allium cepa; Animals; Base Sequence; Biological and medical sciences; Biological control; Botany; Bunyaviridae; Citrullus lanatus; Cloning, Molecular; Consensus Sequence; Cytochrome; cytochrome-c oxidase; Developmental stages; Electron Transport Complex IV - chemistry; Electron Transport Complex IV - classification; Electron Transport Complex IV - genetics; Epidemiology; Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology; Generalities; genes; Genetic Markers; genetic variation; Insect Proteins - chemistry; Insect Proteins - classification; Insect Proteins - genetics; insect vectors; Insect Vectors - enzymology; Insect Vectors - genetics; Insect Vectors - virology; Insecta; Insecta - enzymology; Insecta - genetics; Insecta - virology; Insecticides; Invertebrates; mitochondrial DNA; Mitochondrial Proteins - chemistry; Mitochondrial Proteins - classification; Mitochondrial Proteins - genetics; Molecular biology; molecular epidemiology; Molecular Sequence Data; mtCOI; nucleotide sequences; pest identification; Phylogeny; Phytopathology. Animal pests. Plant and forest protection; plant viruses; Protozoa. Invertebrates; Sequence Alignment; sequence analysis; species differences; Species Specificity; species-specific marker; Systematics. Geographical distribution; T. palmi; Thripidae; Thrips tabaci; Thysanoptera; Tospovirus; Tospovirus - physiology; Virology; Plant pathogen; T. palmi; Insecta; Cytochrome-c oxidase; Biological marker; Species specificity; Phylogeny; Mitochondria; Thrips tabaci; Pest; Bunyaviridae; Gene; Dicotyledones; Angiospermae; Vector; mtCOI; Enzyme; Cucurbitaceae; Thysanoptera; Virus; species-specific marker; Fruit crop; Arthropoda; Thripidae; Thrips palmi; Spermatophyta; Oxidoreductases; Cucumis melo; Invertebrata
• ISSN: 0007-4853; 1475-2670
• DOI: 10.1017/S0007485307005147

A quick and developmental-stage non-limiting method of the identification of vectors of tospoviruses, such as Thrips tabaci and T. palmi, is important in the study of vector transmission, insecticide resistance, biological control, etc. Morphological identification of these thrips vectors is often a stumbling block in the absence of a specialist and limited by polymorphism, sex, stage of development, etc. Molecular identification, on the other hand, is not hampered by the above factors and can easily be followed by a non-specialist with a little training. The mitochondrial cytochrome oxidase I (mtCOI) exhibits reliable inter-species variations as compared to the other markers. In this communication, we present the differences in the mtCOI partial sequence of morphologically identified specimens of T. tabaci and T. palmi collected from onion and watermelon, respectively. Species-specific markers, identified in this study, could successfully determine T. tabaci and T. palmi, which corroborated the morphological identification. Phylogenetic analyses showed that both T. tabaci and T. palmi formed different clades as compared to the other NCBI accessions. The implication of these variations in vector efficiency has to be investigated further. The result of this investigation is useful in the quick identification of T. tabaci and T. palmi, a critical factor in understanding the epidemiology of the tospoviruses, their management and also in quarantine.