Genetic Diversity in Apple Fruit Moth Indicate Different Clusters in the Two Most Important Apple Growing Regions of Norway

Abdelhameed Elameen,Hans Eiken,Geir Knudsen

doi:10.3390/d8020010

Abdelhameed Elameen, Hans Eiken + Show 1 more

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https://doi.org/10.3390/d8020010

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Journal: Diversity	Publication Date: Apr 13, 2016
Citations: 59	License type: CC BY 4.0

Affiliation: Norwegian Institute of Bioeconomy Research

Abstract

The apple fruit moth (Argyresthia conjugella (A. conjugella)) in Norway was first identified as a pest in apple production in 1899. We here report the first genetic analysis of A. conjugella using molecular markers. Amplified fragment length polymorphism (AFLP) analysis was applied to 95 individuals from six different locations in the two most important apple-growing regions of Norway. Five AFLP primer combinations gave 410 clear polymorphic bands that distinguished all the individuals. Further genetic analysis using the Dice coefficient, Principal Coordinate analysis (PCO) and Bayesian analyses suggested clustering of the individuals into two main groups showing substantial genetic distance. Analysis of molecular variance (AMOVA) revealed greater variation among populations (77.94%) than within populations (22.06%) and significant and high FST values were determined between the two major regions (Distance = 230 km, FST = 0.780). AFLP analysis revealed low to moderate genetic diversity in our population sample from Norway (Average: 0.31 expected heterozygosity). The positive significant correlation between the geographic and the molecular data (r2 = 0.6700) indicate that genetic differences between the two major regions may be due to geographical barriers such as high mountain plateaus (Hardangervidda) in addition to isolation by distance (IBD).

Highlights

IntroductionThe apple fruit moth (Argyresthia conjugella (A. conjugella)) was first described by Zeller in 1839
The apple fruit moth (Argyresthia conjugella (A. conjugella)) was first described by Zeller in 1839.It is a small moth with a body length of 5–6 mm belonging to the order Lepidoptera, the group Ditrysia and the family Yponomeutidae
We investigated the genetic structure of A. conjugella populations using the model-based

Summary

Introduction

The apple fruit moth (Argyresthia conjugella (A. conjugella)) was first described by Zeller in 1839. It is a small moth with a body length of 5–6 mm belonging to the order Lepidoptera (butterflies and moths), the group Ditrysia and the family Yponomeutidae. The Ditrysia, a natural group of butterflies and moths, contain more than 98% of the described Lepidoptera species. In years when rowan berries are scarce, the female moth must seek alternative hosts [5], and apple (Malus domestica) is such a forced alternative host. In years of low rowan fruit production, A. conjugella larvae can cause great damage to apple crops, and are recognized as the most important insect pest on apples in Fennoscandia [6]

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