Microsatellite markers from the 'South American fruit fly' Anastrepha fraterculus: a valuable tool for population genetic analysis and SIT applications.

Jorge L Cladera,Ludvik Gomulski,Giuliano Gasperi,Marianela Juri,Angelica Bonomi,Alejandra C Scannapieco,Diego F Segura,Anna Malacrida,Silvia B Lanzavecchia

doi:10.1186/1471-2156-15-s2-s13

Abstract

BackgroundAnastrepha fraterculus Wiedemann is a horticultural pest which causes significant economic losses in the fruit-producing areas of the American continent and limits the access of products to international markets. The use of environmentally friendly control strategies against this pest is constrained due to the limited knowledge of its population structure.ResultsWe developed microsatellite markers for A. fraterculus from four genomic libraries, which were enriched in CA, CAA, GA and CAT microsatellite motifs. Fifty microsatellite regions were evaluated and 14 loci were selected for population genetics studies. Genotypes of 122 individuals sampled from four A. fraterculus populations were analyzed. The level of polymorphism ranged from three to 13 alleles per locus and the mean expected heterozygosity ranged from 0.60 to 0.64. Comparison between allelic and genotypic frequencies showed significant differences among all pairs of populations.ConclusionsThis novel set of microsatellite markers provides valuable information for the description of genetic variability and population structure of wild populations and laboratory strains of A. fraterculus. This information will be used to identify and characterize candidate strains suitable to implement effective pest control strategies and might represent a first step towards having a more comprehensive knowledge about the genetics of this pest.

Highlights

Anastrepha fraterculus Wiedemann is a horticultural pest which causes significant economic losses in the fruit-producing areas of the American continent and limits the access of products to international markets
As we worked with good-quality DNA samples, we considered that the lack of amplification was due to the presence of nanosatellites in the primer sequence, or to the location of the microsatellite in genomic regions of difficult access, or to the presence of secondary DNA structures that prevent PCR amplification
In this study, we developed a set of microsatellite markers for A. fraterculus

Summary

Introduction

Anastrepha fraterculus Wiedemann is a horticultural pest which causes significant economic losses in the fruit-producing areas of the American continent and limits the access of products to international markets. The South American fruit fly Anastrepha fraterculus Wiedemann (Diptera: Tephritidae) is an important pest of commercial fruit in the American continent. In subtropical and temperate regions of South America, this pest shares its habitat with the Mediterranean fruit fly Ceratitis capitata Wiedemann (Diptera: Tephritidae), and both species cause significant economic losses in fruit-producing areas. The presence of these species limits access to international markets due to quarantine restrictions imposed by fruit-fly-free countries. In Argentina and southern Brazil, only one biological entity, described as A. fraterculus sp. by Goday et al [11], is present [12,13]; this entity has been previously characterized using sequence data [14] and behavioral studies [15,16]

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