Journal of Pest Science (2013) 86, 173-183

Mahnaz Shabani, Coralie Bertheau, Mehrshad Zeinalabedini, Alimorad Sarafrazi, Mohsen Mardi, Sepehr Mohajeri Naraghi, Heshmatollah Rahimian and Mahmoud Shojaee (2013)
Population genetic structure and ecological niche modelling of the leafhopper Hishimonus phycitis
Journal of Pest Science 86 (2), 173-183
Abstract: Witches' broom disease of lime, caused by `Candidatus Phytoplasma aurantifolia', is responsible for major losses of Mexican lime trees in Southern Iran, Oman and the United Arab Emirates. The causative phytoplasma is transmitted by the leafhopper, Hishimonus phycitis. We combined ecological niche modelling with environmental and genetic data for six populations of H. phycitis from Iran and one from Oman. The mitochondrial cytochrome c oxidase I (COI) gene and nine microsatellite DNA markers were used for the genetic analyses. Although the Oman population had specific haplotypes, the COI sequences were highly conserved among all populations studied. In contrast, the microsatellite data divided the populations from Iran and Oman into two separate clades. An analysis of molecular variance indicated a high level of variation within populations. The Mantel test showed no correlation between genetic and geographical distances. Gene flow values were small between the populations from Iran and north of Oman but significantly higher among the Iranian populations supporting the differentiation between Iran and Oman. In addition, we found that patterns of genetic divergence within Iranian populations were associated strongly with divergence in terms of their ecological niches. Data on six climatic variables, including elevation, were used to create ecological niche models. Our results suggest that the genetic differentiation of H. phycitis may be attributable to climatic conditions and/or geographical barriers.
(The abstract is excluded from the Creative Commons licence and has been copied with permission by the publisher.)
Link to article at publishers website

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

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Pest and/or beneficial records:

Beneficial	Pest/Disease/Weed	Crop/Product	Country	Quarant.
	Hishimonus phycitis	Citrus (genus)	Iran
	Hishimonus phycitis	Citrus (genus)	Oman