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Molecular identification of Bactrocera passiflorae (Diptera: Tephritidae): Challenge and solution for DNA barcoding
Author(s) -
Li Dongmei,
McCarthy Bede,
Gunawardana Dis.,
Waite David W.,
Anderson Diane,
George Sherly
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
journal of applied entomology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.795
H-Index - 60
eISSN - 1439-0418
pISSN - 0931-2048
DOI - 10.1111/jen.12801
Subject(s) - biology , dna barcoding , tephritidae , mitochondrial dna , identification (biology) , bactrocera , polymerase chain reaction , dna sequencing , dna , evolutionary biology , pest analysis , zoology , genetics , gene , botany
Fruit flies cause significant damage to crop and fruit production worldwide. Therefore, it is essential to identify these organisms to species level; however, immature stages are often impossible to be identified morphologically; thus, the application of DNA barcoding has greatly assisted in species identification. Nuclear, mitochondrial pseudo‐COI (NUMT) can be co‐amplified with mitochondrial DNA when using generic primers and therefore impair the efficacy of DNA barcoding. This study detected two types of NUMTs from Bactrocera passiflorae, one of them is novel. Therefore, the new finding will assist future species identification by avoiding misidentification using ambiguous NUMT sequences. In addition, this study has developed primers to target the COI gene of B. passiflorae , not the NUMT copies. The newly designed primers have demonstrated its efficiency in amplifying the Mt‐COI of B. passiflorae and can be used in routine diagnostics.