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ARS Home » Pacific West Area » Maricopa, Arizona » U.S. Arid Land Agricultural Research Center » Pest Management and Biocontrol Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #356072
Research Project: Ecologically Based Pest Management in Western Crops Such as Cotton

Location: Pest Management and Biocontrol Research

Title: Super mark it! Using protein tagging to track insect movement

Author
item Hagler, James

Submitted to: Annals of the Entomological Society of America
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 9/12/2018
Publication Date: 5/7/2019
Publication URL: http://handle.nal.usda.gov/10113/6542280
Citation: Hagler, J.R. 2019. Super mark it! A review of the protein immunomarking technique. Annals of the Entomological Society of America. 112(3):200-210.

Interpretive Summary: Tracking dispersal patterns in nature is essential for efficient management of arthropod pests and conservation of natural enemies and pollinators. A scientist at the ARS laboratory in Maricopa, Arizona pioneered the protein immunomarking technique (PIT). The PIT is used worldwide to track arthropod dispersal patterns. It consists of tagging arthropods with a specific protein. In turn, recaptured arthropods are examined for the presence of the protein tag by a highly sensitive immunological assay. In this invited article, the ARS scientist reviews the PIT procedure. The information provided will serve as the primary reference material for the next generation of scientists who study arthropod dispersal patterns.

Technical Abstract: Having an effective method to track arthropods in nature is essential for any mark-release-recapture (MRR) or mark-capture (MC) type experiment. A simple protein immunomarking technique (PIT) was described over a quarter of a century ago that has since been proven to be a highly useful and versatile tool for tracking arthropod dispersal patterns. The PIT consists of tagging arthropods with a specific protein. In turn, recaptured arthropods are examined for the presence of the protein tag by a highly sensitive and specific enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). In this article, I review the progression of the PIT procedure, provide guidelines for conducting a successful PIT (MRR or MC) dispersal study, and highlight some of the ways this procedure has been adapted to study the dispersal patterns of a wide variety of arthropod species. My goal is that the information provided here will provide the researchers with the impetus to develop even more creative uses for the PIT.