Clarifying the source of Conicofrontia sesamoides (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) population in South African sugarcane using morphological identification and mitochondrial DNA analysis
Efforts to identify populations of Conicofrontia sesamoides Hampson collected during surveys in 2009, 2014 and 2015
Abstract
To understand the population structure and development of a new pest species and clarify its origin for biocontrol programmes, a primary step is to identify it.
This article reports on efforts to identify populations of Conicofrontia sesamoides Hampson (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) collected during surveys conducted in 2009, 2014 and 2015. An analysis of the genetic diversity of the populations was carried out using sequences of the mitochondrial cytochrome-c oxidase I (COI) gene (a protein controlling biochemical reactions), to examine host plant, and/or altitude-associated differences among the populations and determine the source of the newly recorded population of the species in South African sugarcane. Findings show that the sugarcane population of the pest originated from the populations residing in wild host plants in the Eastern Cape and/or KwaZulu-Natal provinces of South Africa. The investigators discuss the possible reasons for the host plant expansion and the implications to commercial sugarcane production in the country.
This work is partly funded by the UK Department for International Development, a core donor of the International Centre of Insect Physiology and Ecology.
Citation
Assefa Y., Goftishu M., Capdevielle-Dulac C. and Le Ru B. P. (2017) Clarifying the source of Conicofrontia sesamoides (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) population in South African sugarcane using morphological identification and mitochondrial DNA analysis. Phytoparasitica 45, 45–55. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12600-017-0566-1