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ARS Home » Northeast Area » Beltsville, Maryland (BARC) » Beltsville Agricultural Research Center » Systematic Entomology Laboratory » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #332197
Research Project: Systematics of Hemiptera and Related Groups: Plant Pests, Predators and Disease Vectors

Location: Systematic Entomology Laboratory

Title: New single-copy nuclear genes for scale insect systematics

Author
item MULLEN, KATELYN - University Of Massachusetts
item Schneider, Scott
item NOMARK, BENJAMIN - University Of Massachusetts

Submitted to: Meeting Abstract
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 10/24/2016
Publication Date: 12/13/2016
Citation: Mullen, K.M., Schneider, S.A., Nomark, B.B. 2016. New single-copy nuclear genes for scale insect systematics. Journal of Zoology. 99:207-214.

Interpretive Summary:

Technical Abstract: Despite the advent of next-generation sequencing, the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and Sanger sequencing remain useful tools for molecular identification and systematics. To date, molecular systematics of scale insects has been constrained by the paucity of loci that researchers have been able to amplify with available PCR primers. Due to the rapid molecular evolution of scale insects, "universal" primers, and even primers developed for their sister taxon the Aphidioidea, typically fail. We used transcriptome data for two diaspidids, Acutaspis umbonifera (Newstead) and Chrysomphalus aonidum (Linnaeus), together with a published aphid genome, to design novel PCR primer sets for scale insects. Our primers amplify fragments of 8 single-copy genes: ATP-dependent RNA helicase (DHX8), translation initiation factor 5 (IF5X1), DNA replication licensing factor (Mcm2), double-strand break repair protein (MRE11A), serine/threonine-protein phosphatase (PPP1CB), DNA-directed RNA polymerase II (RNApII), ribonucleoside-diphosphate reductase (RRM1), signal recognition particle receptor (SRPa), neuronal PAS domain-containing protein 4 (NPAS4), and cleft lip and palate transmembrane protein 1 (TP1). Here we report the results of tests of amplification success and phylogenetic utility of these primer sets across Diaspididae and 9 other families of Coccomorpha.