Relationships between parasitoid wasps (Hymenoptera: Braconidae: Opiinae), fruit flies (Diptera: Tephritidae) and their host plants based on 16S rRNA, 12S rRNA, and ND1 gene sequences

Abstract

Opiinae is among the l0 largest subfamilies under the family Braconidae. Opiines species have great potential as natural enemies against fruit fly pests. Before using them as a biological control agent, construction of the phylogenetic trees could facilitate in the molecular identification of individual species and their relationships among members of the Opiines, as well as between Opiines and their host plants. Larval specimens of tephritids were collected from four crop species at five localities throughout the Peninsular Malaysia. A total of 44 specimens of opiines had successfully emerged from the hosts, fruit fly larvae. The DNA sequences of 12S and 16S rRNA were obtained for the braconids while the mitochondrial ND1 sequences were obtained for the tephritids species through polymerase chain reaction. Maximum Parsimony and Bayesian trees were constructed by using PAUP 4.0b10 and MrBayes 3.1.2 to identify the relationships among the taxa. This study illustrates the phylogenetic relationships among parasitoid opiines collected and reared from parasitized fruit flies. The phylogenetic trees constructed based on the mitochondrial 12S and 16S rRNA sequences exhibited similar topology and sequence divergence. The opiines were divided into several clades and subclades according to the genus and species. Each clade also was supported by the similar host plants with high support values. However, their pests were not specific, except for Bactrocera cucurbitae. This study has reconfirmed the associations between Opiinae, tephritids, and host plants based on molecular data.