Invertebrate Systematics (2012) 26, 417-433

Anna Skoracka, Lechoslaw Kuczynski, Renata Santos de Mendonça, Miroslawa Dabert, Wiktoria Szydlo, Danuta Knihinicki, Graciela Truol and Denise Navia (2012)
Cryptic species within the wheat curl mite Aceria tosichella (Keifer) (Acari : Eriophyoidea), revealed by mitochondrial, nuclear and morphometric data
Invertebrate Systematics 26 (4), 417-433
Abstract: The wheat curl mite (WCM), Aceria tosichella (Keifer, 1969), is one of the primary pests of wheat and other cereals throughout the world. Traditional taxonomy recognises WCM as a single eriophyoid species; however, a recent study suggested that two genetic lineages of WCM in Australia might represent putative species. Here, we investigate WCM populations from different host plants in Australia, South America and Europe and test the hypothesis that WCM is, in fact, a complex of cryptic species. We used morphological data in combination with nucleotide sequences of the mitochondrial cytochrome c oxidase subunit I (COI) and nuclear D2 region of 28S rDNA and internal transcribed spacer region (ITS1, ITS2) sequences. The molecular analyses did not support the monophyly of A. tosichella because the outgroup A. tulipae (Keifer, 1938) is grouped within WCM. The molecular datasets indicated the existence of distinct lineages within WCM, with the distances between lineages corresponding to interspecific divergence. Morphological analyses failed to clearly separate WCM populations and lineages, but completely separated A. tulipae from A. tosichella. The results suggest that what has been recognised historically as a single species is, in fact, a complex of several genetically isolated evolutionary lineages that demonstrate potential as cryptic species. Hence, their discrimination using solely morphological criteria may be misleading. These findings are particularly significant because of the economic importance of WCM as a direct pest and vector of plant viruses.
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Link to article at publishers website
Database assignments for author(s): Anna Skoracka, Danuta K. Knihinicki

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

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Pest and/or beneficial records:

Beneficial	Pest/Disease/Weed	Crop/Product	Country	Quarant.
	Aceria tosichella
	Aceria tulipae