Isolation of Microsatellites in a Mexican Population ofMaconellicoccus hirsutus1and Amplification in Populations from Different Geographical Origins

Abstract

Abstract. Pink hibiscus mealybug, Maconellicoccus hirsutus (Green), causes serious economic damage to agriculturally important crops. To date, the genome of this pest has not been studied by molecular techniques. Enriched genomic libraries containing (GT)10, (GA)10, and (GC)10 motifs were generated in a Mexican population of the mealybug. Sequencing analysis revealed eight microsatellite loci with different repeat unit lengths in the genome. The dinucleotide repeat sequence (GC)4 from locus Seq1–56 was selected for primer design because of its length. A primer pair amplified (GC)4 in samples from 21 populations from different geographical origins, including a different species. Sequencing of the locus Seq1–56 indicated two alleles. No polymorphism was found among populations of pink hibiscus mealybug, but polymorphism was found between the pink hibiscus mealybug and M. australiensis (Green & Lidgett). This is the first report of isolation of microsatellites in pink hibiscus mealybug and provides new infor...