a-wind-tunnel-for-odor-mediated-insect-behavioural-assays

A Wind Tunnel for Odor Mediated Insect Behavioural Assays

Olfaction is the most important sensory mechanism by which many insects interact with their environment and a wind tunnel is an excellent tool to study ...

Norwegian Institute of Bioeconomy Research (Nibio)

The apple fruit moth  (Lepidoptera, Yponomeutidae) is a seed predator of rowan () and is distributed in Europe and Asia. In Fennoscandia (Finland, Norway and Sweden), rowan fruit production is low every 2-4 years, and apple () functions as an alternative host, resulting in economic loss in apple crops in inter-mast years. We have used Illumina MiSeq sequencing to identify a set of 19 novel tetra-nucleotide short tandem repeats (STRs) in . Such motifs are recommended for genetic monitoring, which may help to determine the eco-evolutionary processes acting on this pest insect. The 19 STRs were optimized and amplified into five multiplex PCR reactions. We tested individuals collected from Norway and Sweden ( = 64), and detected very high genetic variation (average 13.6 alleles, He = 0.75) compared to most other Lepidoptera species studied so far. Spatial genetic differentiation was low and gene flow was high in the test populations, although two non-spatial clusters could be detected. We conclude that this set of genetic markers may be a useful resource for population genetic monitoring of this economical important insect species.

Geir K. Knudsen

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