Entomological Science (2014) 17, 231-239

Duangta Julsirikul, Jeerapun Worapong and Sangvorn Kitthawee (2014)
Analysis of mitochondrial COI sequences of the Diachasmimorpha longicaudata (Hymenoptera: Braconidae) species complex in Thailand
Entomological Science 17 (2), 231-239
Abstract: Diachasmimorpha longicaudata is an Opiinae parasitoid used to control tephritid fruit flies, which cause tremendous economic losses of fruits worldwide. In Thailand, D. longicaudata is classified as three sibling species, DLA, DLB and DLBB, based on the morphological and biological species concepts but their genetic variation has not been studied. Therefore, we investigated the genetic differentiation of the mitochondrial COI gene to clarify the ambiguous taxonomy of this species complex. The 603-bp COI region was sequenced from laboratory-bred colonies and field-collected specimens from seven locations representing five geographical regions in Thailand. DLA was associated with the host Bactrocera correcta while DLB and DLBB were associated with Bactrocera dorsalis. The interspecific nucleotide differences of COI sequences among the three groups ranged from 6.70% to 7.62% (Kimura 2-parameter distance), which adequately separates species complexes within the order Hymenoptera and supports the current sibling species classification. The neighbor joining, maximum likelihood and consensus Bayesian phylogenetic trees constructed from COI sequences revealed that the three sibling species of laboratory and field-collected D. longicaudata are monophyletic with 100% support. The high genetic variation and molecular phylogeny of the COI sequences were shown to discriminate between the D. longicaudata species examined in this study.
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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.
	Bactrocera dorsalis		Thailand
	Bactrocera correcta		Thailand
Diachasmimorpha longicaudata (parasitoid)	Bactrocera dorsalis		Thailand
Diachasmimorpha longicaudata (parasitoid)	Bactrocera correcta		Thailand