Abstract
Simple SummaryCheatgrass is an annual grass species from Eurasia that has become invasive in much of western North America. It has been implicated in the recent increases in the frequency, size, and intensity of wildfires, contributing to severe economic, environmental, and social destruction. In order to reduce this damage, the USDA-ARS established a classical biological control program against cheatgrass. In 2018 and 2019, adult gall midges were collected emerging from cheatgrass seed heads collected at several sites in Bulgaria and Greece; this is the first gall midge ever recorded from cheatgrass. Morphological and DNA barcode comparisons with related midge species recorded from other plant hosts revealed that this midge from cheatgrass is a new species, described here as Stenodiplosis tectori n. sp. The present study is the first to report DNA barcode data in the genus Stenodiplosis. The DNA barcode results indicated relatively high year-to-year within-population diversity. Implications for this gall midge’s utility as a biological control agent of cheatgrass are discussed.Cheatgrass is an annual grass species from Eurasia that has become invasive in much of western North America. It has been implicated in recent increases in the frequency, size, and intensity of wildfires, contributing to severe economic, environmental, and social destruction. In order to reduce this damage, the USDA-ARS established a classical biological control program against cheatgrass. In 2018 and 2019, adult gall midges were collected emerging from cheatgrass seed heads collected at several sites in Bulgaria and Greece; this is the first gall midge ever recorded from cheatgrass. Morphological comparisons with related midge species recorded from other plant hosts revealed that this midge from cheatgrass is a new species, described here as Stenodiplosis tectori n. sp. This status was supported by sequence comparisons of a barcode region of the gene encoding the mitochondrial cytochrome c subunit I (CO1) protein in Stenodiplosis tectori n. sp. and three congeners. The present study is the first to report MT-CO1 data in the genus Stenodiplosis. The ingroup Stenodiplosis tectori n. sp. collected in the Balkans grouped in one phylogenetic supported clade, with an average K2P-distance from its closest related congener, S. sorghicola, of 7.73% (SD = 1.10). The findings indicated relatively high year-to-year within-population diversity. Implications for this gall midge’s utility as a biological control agent of cheatgrass are discussed.
Highlights
Cheatgrass, a.k.a. downy brome, Anisantha (= Bromus) tectorum (L.) Nevski, is a winter annual grass native to Eurasia that has become invasive on millions of hectares in western North America [1,2,3]
In 2018 and 2019, adult gall midges were collected emerging from cheatgrass seed heads collected at several sites in Bulgaria and Greece; this is the first gall midge ever recorded from cheatgrass
The ingroup Stenodiplosis tectori n. sp. collected in the Balkans grouped in one phylogenetic supported clade, with an average Kimura’s 2-parameter (K2P)-distance from its closest related congener, S. sorghicola, of 7.73% (SD = 1.10)
Summary
Cheatgrass, a.k.a. downy brome, Anisantha (= Bromus) tectorum (L.) Nevski, is a winter annual grass native to Eurasia that has become invasive on millions of hectares in western North America [1,2,3]. A classical biological control program was established by the USDA-ARS to discover coevolved natural enemies of cheatgrass and evaluate them for their suitability as potential biological control agents that would reduce cheatgrass populations to less economically, environmentally, and socially destructive levels [15] (USDA-ARS Research Project #439311). This program has focused on exploration of the native Eurasian range of cheatgrass to better understand the natural history of this plant and to discover herbivorous arthropods, such as mites, gall midges, and other small insects with life cycles rapid enough to match that of cheatgrass
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