Abstract
Leafminer insects of the genus Liriomyza are small flies whose larvae feed on the internal tissue of some of the most important crop plants for the human diet. Several of these pest species are highly uniform from the morphological point of view, meaning molecular data represents the only reliable taxonomic tool useful to define cryptic boundaries. In this study, both mitochondrial and nuclear molecular markers have been applied to investigate the population genetics of some Tunisian populations of the polyphagous species Liriomyza cicerina, one of the most important pest of chickpea cultivars in the whole Mediterranean region. Molecular data have been collected on larvae isolated from chickpea, faba bean, and lentil leaves, and used for population genetics, phylogenetics, and species delimitation analyses. Results point toward high differentiation levels between specimens collected on the three different legume crops, which, according to the species delimitation methods, are also sufficient to define incipient species differentiation and cryptic species occurrence, apparently tied up with host choice. Genetic data have also been applied for a phylogenetic comparison among Liriomyza species, further confirming their decisive role in the systematic studies of the genus.
Highlights
Leafminers (Diptera: Agromyzidae) are phytophagous insect pests of great economic interest worldwide and represent one of the largest fly families
The estimated network shows three well-distinct phylogroups, corresponding to specimens collected on chickpea, lentil and faba bean, respectively (Figure 1), displaying signs of divergent selection among host plants in these leafminers
Haplotypes from specimens collected on C. arietinum host are arranged in a star-like network, with the haplotype A being the ancestral and most frequent variant observed, from which the haplotypes B-K differ for only one nucleotide substitution (Figure 1)
Summary
Leafminers (Diptera: Agromyzidae) are phytophagous insect pests of great economic interest worldwide and represent one of the largest fly families. Polyphagous species feed on several plantation and horticultural crops, whose leaves are tunneled by the pest larvae. Many of them are host-specific or mine a restricted number of related plants among Agromyzidae, the genus adapts to the greatest number of host plants families and has a strong propensity to colonize new hosts [1]. This fly group is believed to be of Neotropic origin and comprises more than 300 species, distributed in most temperate and tropical regions of the planet.
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