Variation in Genetics and Performance of Dutch Western Flower Thrips Populations

Abstract

Invasion of pests may result in local adaptation and the development of biotypes specialized in different hosts. In this study, we investigated western flower thrips, Frankliniella occidentalis (Pergande), an invasive pest in Europe. Thrips from different commercial glasshouse crops within the Dutch Westland and a lab culture kept on chrysanthemum were compared. Genetic barcoding was applied for the identification of potential western flower thrips cryptic species in the Netherlands revealing that all western flower thrips populations studied belonged to the "glasshouse" strain reported in California as the only existing species in the Netherlands. Feeding and reproduction parameters in leaf disc and whole plant bioassays were scored. We detected significant differences in thrips feeding among host plants and thrips origin. Host plants differed in average thrips damage while thrips from different origins caused similar amounts of damage across host plants. In contrast, reproductive success of thrips on all plant species depended strongly on thrips origin. The thrips lab culture maintained on chrysanthemum obtained the highest levels of reproduction on chrysanthemum. Differences among the other thrips populations were relatively small. Amplified fragment length polymorphisms analyses were used to study genetic differences between western flower thrips populations and confirmed that the lab culture population was also genetically the most different of all studied populations. The results of the amplified fragment length polymorphisms analyses together with the better reproductive performance of thrips on the host plant on which they were maintained demonstrate the evolution of a lab biotype specialized in a particular host. This finding has potential relevance for future crop control and breeding programs.

Temporal Genetic Dynamics of an Invasive Species, Frankliniella occidentalis (Pergande), in an Early Phase of Establishment

“…It was shown that the benefits of local adaptation could balance against the inbreeding cost that could develop in part owing to the isolating effect of local adaptation itself 31 . In agreement with this hypothesis, F. occidentalis adapted to the host plants on which they were maintained in only a few generations showed better reproductive performance than on other plants 32 . The better reproductive performance on the adapted-host plants indicates that western flower thrips have a high adaptation potential 10 11 that may be due to its biological attributes.…”

Resistance to three thrips species in Capsicum spp. depends on site conditions and geographic regions

“…Reproductive performance of F. occidentalis populations collected from different greenhouses in the Netherlands was significantly different (Mirnezhad, Schidlo, Klinkhamer, & Leiss, ). Amplified fragment length polymorphism (AFLP) analyses revealed that these populations showed clear genetic differentiation (Mirnezhad et al, ). Similarly, in T. tabaci there was genetic differentiation among 22 populations collected from different host plant species (Brunner, Chatzivassiliou, Katis, & Frey, ).…”

“…Even on a smaller geographic scale, differences in performance among thrips populations have become evident. Reproductive performance of F. occidentalis populations collected from different greenhouses in the Netherlands was significantly different (Mirnezhad, Schidlo, Klinkhamer, & Leiss, 2012). Amplified fragment length polymorphism (AFLP) analyses revealed that these populations showed clear genetic differentiation (Mirnezhad et al, 2012).…”

Frontiers Approaches to the Diagnosis of Thrips (Thysanoptera): How Effective Are the Molecular and Electronic Detection Platforms?

“…Both L and G strains are present in China [ 104 , 105 , 106 , 107 , 108 ]. COI sequences of F. occidentalis population in the Netherlands indicate that G is the only strain there [ 109 ].…”