Present Status of Fruit Fly Bactrocera carambolae Drew & Hancock (Diptera: Tephritidae) in Bali Island, Indonesia

Abstract

Bactrocera carambolae, commonly known as the fruit fly, has been reported as a prominent pest for fruits and vegetables around the world. It has been recorded to infect hosts from a wide range of families and was shown to spread worldwide including Indonesia. The identification of species is needed such that clear information on distribution of the species can be obtained. The combination of analysis through morphology and molecular approaches provide an accurate method of identification. The identification of DNA-based barcode for fruit flies using mitochondrial cytochrome oxidase I gene (mtCOI) was conducted. The result of DNA extraction was amplified using PCR with general primers mtCOI Fruit Fly MT-CO1-F as forward primer and HCO as the reverse primer. A 690bp amplicon of the fruit flies mtCOI gene was obtained. Bactrocera carambolae is the species identified from 9 regencies in Bali Island based on morphology diagnosis and sequence analysis of fruit flies.