Genetic diversity of armored scales (Hemiptera: Diaspididae) and soft scales (Hemiptera: Coccidae) in Chile

P Amouroux,T Malausa,P Kreiter,J.-F Germain,J Ampuero,M Correa,D Crochard,G Groussier,T Zaviezo

doi:10.1038/s41598-017-01997-6

Abstract

Scale insects (Sternorrhyncha: Coccoidea) are one of the most invasive and agriculturally damaging insect groups. Their management and the development of new control methods are currently jeopardized by the scarcity of identification data, in particular in regions where no large survey coupling morphological and DNA analyses have been performed. In this study, we sampled 116 populations of armored scales (Hemiptera: Diaspididae) and 112 populations of soft scales (Hemiptera: Coccidae) in Chile, over a latitudinal gradient ranging from 18°S to 41°S, on fruit crops, ornamental plants and trees. We sequenced the COI and 28S genes in each population. In total, 19 Diaspididae species and 11 Coccidae species were identified morphologically. From the 63 COI haplotypes and the 54 28S haplotypes uncovered, and using several DNA data analysis methods (Automatic Barcode Gap Discovery, K2P distance, NJ trees), up to 36 genetic clusters were detected. Morphological and DNA data were congruent, except for three species (Aspidiotus nerii, Hemiberlesia rapax and Coccus hesperidum) in which DNA data revealed highly differentiated lineages. More than 50% of the haplotypes obtained had no high-scoring matches with any of the sequences in the GenBank database. This study provides 63 COI and 54 28S barcode sequences for the identification of Coccoidea from Chile.

Highlights

Morphological studies have been performed on scale insects from South America[20,21,22], but the marked lack of genetic information for scale insects from this continent is problematic for the efficient management of these pest species in this region
Eight Coccidae species were identified on the basis of morphology: Ceroplastes sinensis Del Guercio, Coccus hesperidum Linnaeus, Parasaissetia nigra (Nietner), Parthenolecanium corni (Bouché), Protopulvinaria pyriformis Cockerell, Pulvinariella mesembryanthemi (Vallot), Saissetia coffeae (Walker), Saissetia oleae (Olivier)
The complete list of host plants for each species is provided in Supplementary Data 1 and 3. This survey reported cytochrome oxidase subunit I (COI) and 28S barcode sequences for 11 putative species of Coccidae and 19 of Diaspididae from Chile, among which eight Coccidae and 17 Diaspididae species could be assigned a name based on morphological examination

Summary

Introduction

Information for the barcoding of scale insects[18, 19] Most of these studies have focused on the insects of North America, Asia and Europe. Previous DNA barcoding studies on scale insects have focused on the Pseudococcidae in Chile[14, 23] and Brazil[24]. Its unique geography resembles that of an island and its environmental features create highly diverse agroecosystems and structured insect populations[23]. These conditions favor the establishment of new invading pests and the colonization of crops by native species, as observed for mealybugs infesting vineyards[14, 25]. Survey data are of direct interest to stakeholders in Chile, such as the Chilean National Agricultural and Livestock Service (Servicio Agrícola y Ganadero), which carries out phytosanitary checks on exported products and prevents the introduction of new pests that might seriously damage Chilean agriculture

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Conclusion