Global genetic variation in the Asian citrus psyllid, Diaphorina citri (Hemiptera: Liviidae) and the endosymbiont Wolbachia: links between Iran and the USA detected

Abstract

The South West Asia (SWA) group is the most likely source of the introduced Iranian populations of D. citri. This assertion is also supported by the sequence similarity of the Wolbachia, wDi, strains from the Florida, USA and Iranian D. citri. These results should be considered when looking for biological controls in either country.

Genetic variation and potential coinfection of Wolbachia among widespread Asian citrus psyllid (Diaphorina citri Kuwayama) populations

“…Comparison among mtCOI genes suggests two separate introductions of D. citri into the Americas, one in North America and the other in South America (de León et al ., ), while our data showed that the mtCOI sequences in these two areas are relatively different. The difference between mtCOI sequences from North America and Southeast Asia identified in our study was also concordant with patterns shown in other studies (Lashkari et al ., ).…”

“…A fundamental step for understanding endosymbionts like w Di is to determine the distribution and diversity of the endosymbiont across different host populations. In this regard, several studies have investigated the genetic diversity of w Di across different populations (Saha et al ., ; Guidolin & Consoli, ; Lashkari et al ., ). Lashkari et al .…”

“…Lashkari et al . () found that the w Di wsp sequence was associated with host genetic diversity and hypothesized that w Di may induce CI in their host (Lashkari et al ., ). In general, previous studies were based on sequences of only one or two w Di genes ( wsp and ftsZ ) (Saha et al ., ; Lashkari et al ., ), or restricted to populations in specific regions of the world (Guidolin & Consoli, ).…”

Phylogeography of Diaphorina citri (Hemiptera: Liviidae) and its primary endosymbiont, ‘Candidatus Carsonella ruddii’: an evolutionary approach to host–endosymbiont interaction

“…Analyses of host mtDNA indicated a phylogeographical genetic break on the eastern Indian subcontinent and northwestern Indo‐Burma, forming the Western, Central and Eastern lineages, which correspond to geographically restricted P‐endosymbiont haplogroups. Populations of the Western group generally include individuals from Pakistan, southern Bhutan and Florida (USA), which is consistent with previous studies in which the USA population was shown to be closely related to the North India population . Populations from the Central group inhabit Bangladesh, northern Bhutan and southwestern China, while the Eastern group comprises populations distributed in Southeast Asia, and South and East China.…”

“…Diaphorina citri is widely distributed in tropical and subtropical Asian countries, and is now also found in South, Central and North America, and East Africa . The biodiversity within D. citri from several regions has been identified through sequencing the mitochondrial COI gene, and using markers in the D. citri endosymbiont, Wolbachia wDi . Previous attempts to characterize biodiversity within accessions of D. citri across East and Southeast Asia used COI , but this marker does not explicitly incorporate geographic information .…”