Guiding Classical Biological Control of an Invasive Mealybug Using Integrative Taxonomy

The analysed sequences were deposited in Genbank under accession numbers KP771926-KP771972. Mealybug slides are available at the Polytechnic University of Valencia (Valencia, Spain). Parasitoid slides are deposited at Università degli Studi di Napoli Federico II (Portici, Italy).[EN] Delottococcus aberiae De Lotto (Hemiptera: Pseudococcidae) is a mealybug of Southern African origin that has recently been introduced into Eastern Spain. It causes severe distortions on young citrus fruits and represents a growing threat to Mediterranean citrus production. So far, biological control has proven unsatisfactory due to the absence of efficient natural enemies in Spain. Hence, the management of this pest currently relies only on chemical control. The introduction of natural enemies of D. aberiae from the native area of the pest represents a sustainable and economically viable alternative to reduce the risks linked to pesticide applications. Since biological control of mealybugs has been traditionally challenged by taxonomic misidentification, an intensive survey of Delottococcus spp. and their associated parasitoids in South Africa was required as a first step towards a classical biological control programme. Combining morphological and molecular characterization (integrative taxonomy) a total of nine mealybug species were identified in this study, including three species of Delottococcus. Different populations of D. aberiae were found on wild olive trees, in citrus orchards and on plants of Chrysanthemoides monilifera, showing intra-specific divergences according to their host plants. Interestingly, the invasive mealybug populations from Spanish orchards clustered together with the population on citrus from Limpopo Province (South Africa), sharing COI haplotypes. This result pointed to an optimum location to collect natural enemies against the invasive mealybug. A total of 14 parasitoid species were recovered from Delottococcus spp. and identified to genus and species level, by integrating morphological and molecular data. A parasitoid belonging to the genus Anagyrus, collected from D. aberiae in citrus orchards in Limpopo, is proposed here as a good biological control agent to be introduced into Spain.This work was supported by the European Union Seventh Framework Programme FP7-IRSES #269196 "IPRABIO" and FP7-IAPP #324475 "COLBICS" and FP7-IRSES #612566 "BIOMODICS". The funders had no role in the study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.Beltrà Ivars, A.; Addison, P.; Ávalos Masó, JA.; Crochard, D.; García Mari, F.; Guerrieri, E.; Giliomee, JH.... (2015). Guiding Classical Biological Control of an Invasive Mealybug Using Integrative Taxonomy. PLoS ONE. 10(6):1-14. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0128685S11410

MicroRNA-151 and its hosting gene FAK (focal adhesion kinase) regulate tumor cell migration and spreading of hepatocellular carcinoma

CITATION: Giliomee, J. H. 2013. Entomology in South Africa: where do we come from, where are we now and where are we going? South African Journal of Science, 109(1/2), Art. #a004, doi: 10.1590/sajs.2013/a004.The original publication is available at http://sajs.co.zaEntomology in South Africa can be traced back to the mid-18th century when Ryk Tulbagh was governor at the Cape from 1751 to 1771. Tulbagh was interested in nature and instructed his gardener, J.A. Auge, to collect plants, insects and other animals for scientists at European universities. He also sent specimens to Linnaeus in Sweden, with whom he as a Dutchman corresponded in Latin, their only common language. To thank and honour him, Linnaeus named for him the plant genus Tulbaghia as well as the beautiful Mountain Pride butterfly Aeropetes tulbaghia L. (Lepidoptera: Satyridae) that occurs along the slopes of Table Mountain.http://sajs.co.za/entomology-south-africa-where-do-we-come-where-are-we-now-and-where-are-we-going/jan-h-giliomeePublisher's versio

Phylogenetic relationships among the mealybug taxa surveyed in study, as revealed by a Bayesian consensus tree obtained using the BEAST package.

<p>For each sample of the dataset, the morphological identification, the host plant, the sampling site and the specimen code are given.</p

Parasitoids of <i>Delottococcus</i> spp. recorded in previous works.

<p>Parasitoids of <i>Delottococcus</i> spp. recorded in previous works.</p

Estimates of evolutionary divergence over sequence pairs between groups.

<p>Standard error estimate(s) are shown above the diagonal. Numbers in bold denote the estimates between populations of <i>Delottococcus aberiae</i>.</p><p>Estimates of evolutionary divergence over sequence pairs between groups.</p