Journal of Insect Science (2016) 16 (22), 1-7
Li-Hsin Wu, Ary A. Hoffmann and Linda J. Thomson (2016)
Taiwanese Trichogramma of Asian corn borer: Morphology, ITS-2 rDNA characterization, and natural Wolbachia infection
Journal of Insect Science 16 (22), 1-7
Abstract: Egg parasitoids of the genus Trichogramma are natural enemies of many lepidopteran borers in agricultural areas around the world. It is important to identify the correct species and ideally focus on endemic Trichogramma for pest control in particular crops. In this study, Trichogramma wasps were collected from parasitized eggs of Asian corn borer in Southwestern Taiwan. Three Trichogramma species, Trichogramma ostriniae Pang and Chen, Trichogramma chilonis Ishii, and T. sp. y, were identified based on morphology and the nucleotide sequence of the internal transcribed spacer 2 (ITS-2) region of rDNA. Although T. ostriniae and T. sp. y appear to be morphologically similar, ITS-2 identity between these two taxa is only 89%. Surprisingly, a commercially released Trichogramma colony thought to be T. chilonis possessed 99% identity (ITS-2) with the field T. sp. y individuals. This suggests past contamination leading to subsitution of the laboratory-reared T. chilonis colony by T. sp. y. Natural populations of all three Trichogramma species were found to be infected by a single Wolbachia strain which was identified using a wsp gene sequence.
(The abstract is excluded from the Creative Commons licence and has been copied with permission by the publisher.)
Full text of article
Database assignments for author(s): Li-Hsin Wu, Ary A. Hoffmann, Linda J. Thomson
Research topic(s) for pests/diseases/weeds:
biocontrol - natural enemies
Research topic(s) for beneficials or antagonists:
surveys/distribution/isolation
Pest and/or beneficial records:
| Beneficial | Pest/Disease/Weed | Crop/Product | Country | Quarant.
|
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ostrinia furnacalis | Maize/corn (Zea mays) | Taiwan | ||
| Trichogramma chilonis (parasitoid) | Ostrinia furnacalis | Maize/corn (Zea mays) | Taiwan | |
| Trichogramma ostriniae (parasitoid) | Ostrinia furnacalis | Maize/corn (Zea mays) | Taiwan |
