Molecular diagnostics of the R81T mutation on the D-loop region of the β1 subunit of the nicotinic acetylcholine receptor gene conferring resistance to neonicotinoids in the cotton aphid, Aphis gossypii (Hemiptera: Aphididae)

Abstract

Aphis gossypii Glover is a cosmopolitan and polyphagous aphid species. When neonicotinoid-resistant clones of A. gossypii were recently found in Japan, it was subsequently discovered that a point mutation (R81T) in the D-loop region of the β1 subunit of the nicotinic acetylcholine receptor gene had conferred this resistance. To quickly identify this neonicotinoid-resistant allele, we developed a molecular diagnostics test using a multiplex polymerase chain reaction method that targeted the R81T mutation.