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Molecular discrimination of phytoseiids associated with the red palm mite Raoiella indica (Acari: Tenuipalpidae) from Mauritius and South Florida

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Abstract

Phytoseiid populations imported from Mauritius for evaluation for a classical biological control program in Florida, USA, were morphologically identified as Amblyseius largoensis Muma, a species associated with the red palm mite in south Florida and the Caribbean. Bayesian analysis and sequence divergences of the mitochondrial 12S rRNA and nuclear Elongation factor—I alpha (EF-Iα) genes and Neighbor-Joining analysis of High-fidelity-RAPD-PCR markers were used to discriminate between the south Florida and Mauritius populations. High-fidelity-RAPD-PCR markers in addition to Bayesian and sequence divergence analyses of the 12S rRNA sequences suggest that the Mauritius and south Florida populations are genetically different but whether these are species or population differences is unknown. The degenerate EF-Iα primers used to survey the phytoseiids amplified two different elongation factor sequences with distinct amino acid translations, the putative EF-Iα and an unknown elongation factor. Variability within the 12S gene was used to develop population-specific primers for identifying the Mauritius phytoseiids in the event they are released in south Florida.

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Acknowledgments

This study was funded by the Davies, Fischer and Eckes Endowment in Biological Control to Marjorie A. Hoy, the University of Florida Institute Of Food and Agricultural Sciences, and the USDA-APHIS contract “Classical Biological Control of the Red Palm Mite”. The authors are grateful to A. Jeyaprakash for assistance. Cal Welbourn, Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, Division of Plant Industry, Gainesville, Florida and H. A. Denmark are acknowledged for their taxonomic assistance. Daniel Carrillo and Jorge Peña are acknowledged for their assistance with collecting phytoseiid specimens in south Florida. The authors thank M. Dornburg, K. Krey, R. Tanay, and R. Wilcox for assistance in rearing and maintaining the colonies.

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  1. Department of Entomology and Nematology, University of Florida, POB 110620, Gainesville, FL, 32611, USA

    Heidi M. Bowman & Marjorie A. Hoy

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  1. Heidi M. Bowman
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  2. Marjorie A. Hoy
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Correspondence to Heidi M. Bowman.

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Bowman, H.M., Hoy, M.A. Molecular discrimination of phytoseiids associated with the red palm mite Raoiella indica (Acari: Tenuipalpidae) from Mauritius and South Florida. Exp Appl Acarol 57, 395–407 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10493-012-9549-6

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