Experimental and Applied Acarology (2018) 74, 123-138

Flore Zélé, Mylène Weill and Sara Magalhães (2018)
Identification of spider-mite species and their endosymbionts using multiplex PCR
Experimental and Applied Acarology 74 (2), 123-138
Abstract: Spider mites of the genus Tetranychidae are severe crop pests. In the Mediterranean a few species coexist, but they are difficult to identify based on morphological characters. Additionally, spider mites often harbour several species of endosymbiotic bacteria, which may affect the biology of their hosts. Here, we propose novel, cost-effective, multiplex diagnostic methods allowing a quick identification of spider-mite species as well as of the endosymbionts they carry. First, we developed, and successfully multiplexed in a single PCR, primers to identify Tetranychus urticae, T. evansi and T. ludeni, some of the most common tetranychids found in southwest Europe. Moreover, we demonstrated that this method allows detecting multiple species in a single pool, even at low frequencies (up to 1/100), and can be used on entire mites without DNA extraction. Second, we developed another set of primers to detect spider-mite endosymbionts, namely Wolbachia, Cardinium and Rickettsia in a multiplex PCR, along with a generalist spider-mite primer to control for potential failure of DNA amplification in each PCR. Overall, our method represents a simple, cost-effective and reliable method to identify spider-mite species and their symbionts in natural field populations, as well as to detect contaminations in laboratory rearings. This method may easily be extended to other species.
(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): Sara Magalhaes, Mylène Weill

Research topic(s) for pests/diseases/weeds:
identification/taxonomy
surveys/sampling/distribution

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Pest and/or beneficial records:

Beneficial	Pest/Disease/Weed	Crop/Product	Country	Quarant.
	Tetranychus urticae
	Tetranychus ludeni
	Tetranychus evansi