Use of DNA fingerprinting to evaluate trophic plasticity and movement between habitats of an egg parasitoid
1996
Catindig, J.L.A. | Cohen, M.B. | Barrion, A.T. (International Rice Research Inst., Los Banos, Laguna (Philippines))
Gonatocerus of cicadellae Nikolskaya (Hymenoptera: Mymaridae) is an egg parasitoid of green leafhoppers, Nephotettix spp. (Homoptera: Cicadellidae), and other grass-feeding leafhoppers. G. pf cicadellae can be collected from leafhopper eggs in rice as well as in grassy habitats that surround rice fields. Thus, it is possible that these grassy habitats serve as refuge for G. cf cicadellae and help to stabilize biological control of leafhoppers in rice. However, it could also be possible that G. cf cicadellae moves little between habitats and consists of a series of populations specialized to particular hosts or habitats. In this study, G. cf cicadellae was collected from eggs of N. virescens (Distant) in a rice field and in a grassy area 10 m away from the rice field. DNA fingerprinting was then used to compare the type of frequency of genetic markers in parasitoids collected from the two habitats. The genetic markers used were RAPDs (randomly amplified polymorphic DNAs). RAPDs are amplified from extracted DNA by use of PCR (polymerase chain reaction), then separated by agarose gel electrophoresis and visualized by staining with ethidium bromide. RAPD primers produce banding patterns that differ between G. cf cicadellae collected in the rice field and the grassy habitat. This difference in genetic markers suggests that there may be limited movement of G. cf cicadellae between these two habitats, and that there may be partial reproductive isolation between the rice and grass populations. However, much larger sample sizes and more collection sites are necessary to further evaluate this hypothesis
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