Brazilian invasion and dispersion routes of the cotton boll weevil

Abstract

The cotton boll weevil, Anthonomus grandis (Coleoptera: Curculionidae), is the major insect pest of cotton in the Americas. Although the demographic and dispersion patterns of the cotton boll weevil in the USA and Mexico were well characterized, in Brazil the information is scarce and does not include the main cotton‐producing regions of the country. Thus, our objective was to apply a phylogeographic approach sequencing a gene fragment of the cytochrome c oxidase subunit I (COI) to estimate the genetic diversity, identify the genetic strains, and describe the dispersion routes of the cotton boll weevil in the Brazilian territory. The COI marker revealed a low genetic diversity of the cotton boll weevil with only two haplotypes in Brazil. The haplotypes are genetically related to individuals from the eastern region of the USA and Mexico, which suggests a recent invasion event in Brazil. The genetic structure of COI haplotypes indicates a low dispersion of boll weevils between north/northeast and midwest/southeast regions of Brazil. The genetic drift and low gene flow during the insect expansion explain the COI haplotype distribution. The genetic structure of the cotton boll weevil in Brazil is novel information and provides valuable insight for the design of suitable pest management practices against this key pest species in the country.

Molecular insights on the historical dispersion of Piezodorus guildinii (Hemiptera: Pentatomidae) in Brazil

“…Interestingly, a secondary dispersion of P. guildinii from the Caribbean Basin of the northern hemisphere, mediated or not by human actions (i.e., agriculture or global trade), was not identified in soybean areas in Brazil. Gene flow between insect populations, including P. guildinii , from South and Central/North America is rare due to the presence of biogeographical barriers and divergent wind currents between the southern and northern hemispheres of the American continent (Oliveira et al 2013, Leite et al 2017, Nagoshi et al 2017, Francischini et al 2019, Zucchi et al 2019, Marquesini et al 2022).…”

Molecular identification and phylogeography of Gonipterus spp. (Coleoptera: Curculionidae) in Brazil

“…Within the G. scutellatus complex, the use of COI gene sequencing contributed to improving knowledge about the species taxonomy and geographic distribution, assisting pest management strategies (Mapondera et al 2012; Schröder et al 2020). Furthermore, COI gene fragment sequencing allows exploration of the phylogeography of a species to understand the natural and anthropic factors that affect current species distributions (Avise 2009; Andrade‐Souza et al 2017; Soares et al 2018; Marquesini et al 2022; Sanal Demirci et al 2021). Phylogeographic studies of native and exotic agricultural and forest pests have been highly important for decision‐making in integrated pest management (IPM) (Corrêa et al 2019; Dittrich‐Schröder et al 2018; Karlsson Green et al 2020).…”

Desenvolvimento de >i<Anthonomus grandis >/i< Boheman, 1843 (Coleoptera: Curculionidae) em dietas natural e artificiais, em diferentes temperaturas, visando avaliar adequabilidade da dieta artificial para programas de controle biológico e seu zoneamento no Brasil

“…1982 Maior longevidade foi observada nas diferentes dietas neste trabalho quando comparado a Greenberg et al (2005). Foi observada uma maior longevidade dos adultos no presente trabalho, isto pode indicar que pode haver diferenças entre os recursos alimentares oferecidos aos adultos, como variedade do algodoeiro e composição da dieta artificial, além das diferenças fisiológicas entre as diferentes linhagens de bicudos testadas nos diferentes trabalhos (Pires et al 2017, Marquesini et al, 2021. As condições prévias de alimentação dos estágios imaturos em campo também podem afetar a longevidade de adultos.…”