How to translate text using browser tools
13 October 2018 Molecular and Morphological Identifications Reveal Species Composition of Lygus (Hemiptera: Miridae) Bugs in Potatoes Fields in the Lower Columbia Basin of the United States
Josephine Antwi, Silvia I. Rondon
Author Affiliations +
Abstract

Lygus bugs are highly polyphagous insect pests. In recent years, Lygus bugs have become more conspicuous on potato, Solanum tuberosum L., fields in the Pacific Northwest, particularly in the Lower Columbia Basin. There are concerns that direct feeding damage or potential pathogen transmission can reduce yield. Lygus species on potatoes in the region are collectively identified as ‘Lygus bugs’. Overlapping physical traits and the fact that the same species exhibit morphological variations across a geographic range makes it difficult to identify Lygus to species level. Thus, in this study we used DNA barcodes in combination with morphological characters to identify Lygus species on potatoes. Three species were identified in the Lower Columbia Basin: Lygus hesperus (Knight) and Lygus elisus L. were the most common, whereas Lygus keltoni L. was the least common. Interspecific genetic distances among Lygus species were relatively low, ranging from 0.013 to 0.004. Neighbor-joining (NJ) tree clustered L. hesperus and L. elisus into two major clades, with L. keltoni forming a subclade within L. hesperus clade. Statistical parsimony analysis corroborated findings from phylogenetic analysis with L. keltoni and L. hesperus sharing one haplotype. Our study demonstrates the utility of integrating morphology and molecular markers in identifying morphologically similar species such as Lygus bugs. The study also serves as a fundamental step in contributing to developing suitable management strategies against Lygus bugs on potato.

© The Author(s) 2018. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of Entomological Society of America. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.
Josephine Antwi and Silvia I. Rondon "Molecular and Morphological Identifications Reveal Species Composition of Lygus (Hemiptera: Miridae) Bugs in Potatoes Fields in the Lower Columbia Basin of the United States," Journal of Economic Entomology 112(1), 364-370, (13 October 2018). https://doi.org/10.1093/jee/toy314
Received: 6 March 2018; Accepted: 20 September 2018; Published: 13 October 2018
JOURNAL ARTICLE
7 PAGES

This article is only available to subscribers.
It is not available for individual sale.
+ SAVE TO MY LIBRARY

KEYWORDS
DNA barcode
Lygus
Miridae
mtDNA COI
potatoes
RIGHTS & PERMISSIONS
Get copyright permission
Back to Top