Abstract
Egg parasitoid Trichogramma strain (TNV) received from Kharga Oasis, New Valley Governorate, Egypt, is used in controlling certain date palm lepidopteran insect pests. The morphological features of adult wasps and genetically identification of the strain was carried out. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and light microscope were used for studying morphology of male and female adults and measurements. Data revealed that body length of male was shorter than female. However, adult parasitoid body length of TNV was longer than the species, Trichogramma evanescens West. studied by several authors. In addition, external morphology of antennae, wings, and male genitalia were differed in TNV Trichogramma. The strain TNV identification was based on the molecular genetic techniques using PCR amplification and sequencing of the internal transcribed spacer two (ITS2) region of the rDNA. The BLAST result and phylogenetic analysis of the ITS2 region of rDNA sequence revealed that the strain TNV is closely related to Trichogramma turkestanica. Obtained results confirmed that the Trichogramma sp., used as a biological control in the New Valley, is T. turkestanica and not T. evanescens.
Highlights
In Egypt, date palm (Phoenix dactylifera L.) plantations markedly increased all over the different governorates, especially in the desert new reclaimed lands (El-Assal 2004)
Alignment and phylogenetic analysis The ITS2 sequences of Trichogramma strain TNV were aligned with known ITS2 sequences Trichogramma spp. of rDNA in the GenBank database using the basic local alignment search tool (BLAST) at the National Center for Biotechnology Information, and the percent homology scores were generated to identify the Trichogramma strain TNV
Male measurements reviled an average of 518.85 ± 57.97 μm and ranged from 456.47 to 576.84 μm
Summary
In Egypt, date palm (Phoenix dactylifera L.) plantations markedly increased all over the different governorates, especially in the desert new reclaimed lands (El-Assal 2004). The Trichogrammatidae is a family of tiny wasps in the superfamily Chalcidoidea that include some of the smallest of all insects, ranging in size from 0.2 to 1.5 mm within the genus Trichogramma (Pinto 2006 and Ghoneim 2014) All members of this family attack eggs of insects belonging to 11 orders, e.g., Hymenoptera, Neuroptera, Diptera, Coleoptera, and Hemiptera especially Lepidoptera (Flanders and Quednau 1960 and Ghoneim 2014). Egg parasitoid Trichogramma is used for controlling the serious lepidopteran insect pests of date in the New Valley governorate. The present work was conducted to lighten the morphological features of the adult wasps received for application in the field, with the purpose to determine the precise morphological and molecular identification of this strain
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