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Title: Utility of morphological and molecular techniques for determination of paternity in two subspecies of Diabrotica undecimpunctata (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae)

Author
item OYEDIRAN, I - MONSANTO COMPANY
item CLARK, T - MONSANTO COMPANY
item Skoda, Steven
item HEINRICHS, E - UNIVERSITY OF NEBRASKA
item FOSTER, J - UNIVERSITY OF NEBRASKA

Submitted to: Journal of Entomological Science
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 7/17/2006
Publication Date: 4/10/2007
Citation: Oyediran, I.A., Clark, T.L., Skoda, S.R., Heinrichs, E.A., Foster, J.E. 2007. Utility of morphological and molecular techniques for determination of paternity in two subspecies of Diabrotica undecimpunctata (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae). Journal of Entomological Science. 42:174-184.

Interpretive Summary: The immature stages of corn rootworm beetles are economically important pests not only of corn but also of other important crops. The species is divided into several subspecies expressing morphological and behavioral differences. Although these subspecies predominate in different geographic areas there are large zones of overlap. Understanding the genetics of these subspecies could have important implications in developing control strategies against these pests. Two of the subspecies occurring in the Great Plains, the spotted cucumber beetle and western cucumber spotted beetle, were used in crossing studies to determine if general morphological characters and the molecular technique of Random Amplified Polymorphic DNA (RAPD) could be used to determine paternity. Results showed that body color was paternally inherited and probably controlled by one gene. These controlled studied indicate that the RAPD technique can be used to confirm the genetics of corn rootworms.

Technical Abstract: An experiment was conducted to determine the paternity of F1 progeny using morphological and molecular methods in Diabrotica (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae) subspecies: Diabrotica undecimpunctata howardi Barber, also known as spotted cucumber beetle and D. undecimpunctata undecimpunctata Mannerheim, also known as western cucumber spotted beetle. Results from crosses that involved the females of D. u. howardi and the males of D. u. undecimpunctata had all F1 progeny with phenotypes as the male parent. Similarly, in all the crosses that involved the females of D. u. undecimpunctata and the males of the D. u. howardi, all the F1 progeny had phenotypes as the male parent. DNA from females and males were amplified using two primers to confirm the paternity of F1 progeny. The study on the inheritance of body color in these two subspecies appeared to be governed by one dominant gene (monogenic), and it is the male that determines the body color of progeny in both subspecies.