INVESTIGATING MITOCHONDRIAL DNA GENES AND BIOASSAYS OF LANTANA LACE BUG TO ASSESS A POSSIBLE HOST CHANGE

Date
2020-08
Authors
Zarders, Dominique Renee
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Eiben, Jesse A.
Department
Tropical Conservation Biology & Environmental Science
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INVESTIGACIÓN DE GENES DE ADN MITOCONDRIAL Y BIOASAYOS DE LANTANA LACE BUG PARA EVALUAR UN POSIBLE CAMBIO DE ANFITRIÓN
Abstract
Understanding the causes of non-target host attacks by biological control agents is essential for improving the predictive power of host-specificity testing for insects. Testing host shifts can be challenging when rare instances of non-target attacks occur. The investigation of genetic variation within different agent populations paired with feeding and reproduction bioassays can provide a better understanding of control agent host-specificity when control agents display rare behaviors of attacking a species distantly related to the original host. Teleonemia scrupulosa (lantana lace bug) was first introduced to the Hawaiian Islands in 1902 as a biological control agent for the invasive plant, Lantana camara (lantana) and helped successfully control lantana throughout the Hawaiian Islands. Years later T. scrupulosa was reported feeding on a distantly related endemic plant species, Myoporum stellatum, in the absence of lantana. To better understand this rare case of non-target attack, insect-plant host bioassays and the investigation of intraspecific genetic variation of mitochondrial DNA using three different lantana lace bug groups from two Islands were conducted. Results show slight genetic variation of 3 haplotypes within one T. scrupulosa group on Hawaii Island, but overall, no statistically significant variation among the three groups. Bioassay results indicate the Oahu group is more fit to utilize not only M. stellatum but also M. sandwicense. The overall bug fecundity was higher on the Myoporum species among the Oahu group when compared to the West Hawaii group. The results showed the West Hawaii group was more successful at utilizing lantana than the Myoporum species but was still able to utilize the non-hosts. The West Hawaii and the Oahu group fecundity was statistically the same when compared on Lantana.
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Entomology, Conservation biology, Biological Control, Host-specificity, Lace bug, Lantana, mtDNA, Myoporum
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39 pages
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