BioControl (2015) 60, 189-197

Isabelle Eisele and Rainer Meyhöfer (2015)
Adding "personality" to biocontrol: characterization and suitability of microsatellites for sibship reconstruction in the aphid parasitoid Diaeretiella rapae
BioControl 60 (2), 189-197
Abstract: Efficiency of natural enemies in pest control in the field frequently shows high degree of variability, making it difficult to propose reliable biocontrol strategies. Due to the small size of many beneficals, underlying mechanisms are difficult to evaluate. In the present study the potential of molecular markers to reconstruct individual foraging decisions of a small parasitoid species unsuitable for direct tracking, i.e. Diaeretiella rapae (M`Intosh) (Hymenoptera: Braconidae), a primary parasitoid of the cabbage aphid Brevicoryne brassicae (Linnaeus) (Hemiptera: Aphididae), was evaluated. Nine newly designed microsatellite primer pairs were tested for their reliability in parentage analysis. Therefore, several families of D. rapae with four to six daughters and high or low degree of inbreeding were established in the lab. Individuals were genotyped and parentage and sibship analysis was calculated with the software COLONY. The results indicated that 91 % of the 85 genotyped offspring from all families have been assigned to the correct family when all nine microsatellite loci have been used and 86 % when only six microsatellite loci have been used. Even in families with high degree of inbreeding up to 87 % of the offspring could be assigned correctly. In conclusion, the sibship analysis of D. rapae provides reliable results, especially with all nine selected microsatellite loci. Therefore it will be a valuable tool to reconstruct individual foraging decisions and characterize parasitoid "personality" in the field to improve biological control strategies.
(The abstract is excluded from the Creative Commons licence and has been copied with permission by the publisher.)
Link to article at publishers website
Database assignments for author(s): Rainer Meyhöfer

Research topic(s) for pests/diseases/weeds:
biocontrol - natural enemies
Research topic(s) for beneficials or antagonists:
molecular biology - genes

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Pest and/or beneficial records:

Beneficial	Pest/Disease/Weed	Crop/Product	Country	Quarant.
	Brevicoryne brassicae	Cabbage (Brassica oleracea)	Germany
Diaeretiella rapae (parasitoid)	Brevicoryne brassicae	Cabbage (Brassica oleracea)	Germany