Bulletin of Entomological Research (2005) 95, 505-516

D. Navia, G.J. de Moraes, G. Roderick and M. Navajas (2005)
The invasive coconut mite Aceria guerreronis (Acari: Eriophyidae): origin and invasion sources inferred from mitochondrial (16S) and nuclear (ITS) sequences
Bulletin of Entomological Research 95 (6), 505-516
Abstract: Over the past 30 years the coconut mite Aceria guerreronis Keifer has emerged as one of the most important pests of coconut and has recently spread to most coconut production areas worldwide. The mite has not been recorded in the Indo-Pacific region, the area of origin of coconut, suggesting that it has infested coconut only recently. To investigate the geographical origin, ancestral host associations, and colonization history of the mite, DNA sequence data from two mitochondrial and one nuclear region were obtained from samples of 29 populations from the Americas, Africa and the Indo-ocean region. Mitochondrial DNA 16S ribosomal sequences were most diverse in Brazil, which contained six of a total of seven haplotypes. A single haplotype was shared by non-American mites. Patterns of nuclear ribosomal internal transcribed spacer (ITS) variation were similar, again with the highest nucleotide diversity found in Brazil. These results suggest an American origin of the mite and lend evidence to a previous hypothesis that the original host of the mite is a non-coconut palm. In contrast to the diversity in the Americas, all samples from Africa and Asia were identical or very similar, consistent with the hypothesis that the mite invaded these regions recently from a common source. Although the invasion routes of this mite are still only partially reconstructed, the study rules out coconut as the ancestral host of A. guerreronis, thus prompting a reassessment of efforts using quarantine and biological control to check the spread of the pest.
(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): Maria Navajas, George Roderick, Gilberto J. de Moraes

Research topic(s) for pests/diseases/weeds:
molecular biology - genes
general biology - morphology - evolution

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Pest and/or beneficial records:

Beneficial	Pest/Disease/Weed	Crop/Product	Country	Quarant.
	Aceria guerreronis	Coconut (Cocos nucifera)