Biology Reference
In-Depth Information
13.7.4 Eradicating Medflies in California?
625
13.7.4.1 The Controversy 625
13.7.4.2 Species-Specific Diagnostics 628
13.7.4.3 Geographic Origin of Medfly Populations
630
13.7.4.4 Is the Medfly Established in California?
631
13.7.4.5 The End? 637
13.7.4.6 Some Lessons Learned 639
13.7.5 Plant Defenses to Insect Herbivory
639
13.7.6 Origins of Insect Populations 641
13.7.6.1 Emerald Ash Borer 641
13.7.6.2 Domesticated Populations of
Aedes aegypti
641
13.7.6.3 Bumblebees from Greenhouses Invade Wild Conspecific Populations
642
13.7.6.4 The Tobacco Aphid in the New World 642
13.7.6.5 Populations of
Aedes taeniorhynchus
in the Galapagos Islands: Rapid Evolution of an Invasive
Species 643
13.7.6.6 Industrial Melanism in Peppered Moths
643
13.8 Applied Pest Management 643
13.8.1 Monitoring Biotypes, Species, and Cryptic Species
644
13.8.2 Monitoring Vectors of Disease 645
13.8.3 Pesticide Resistances and Pest Management
645
13.8.4 Monitoring Pest-Population Biology
646
13.8.5 The “So What?” Test
646
Relevant Journals
647
References Cited
647
13.1 Overview
Molecular-genetic techniques provide powerful tools for the study of insect biol-
ogy, ecology, and population genetics in both natural and laboratory popula-
tions. Analysis of proteins, nuclear or mitochondrial DNA and messenger RNA
can be used to answer ecological questions at the individual, population, or eco-
system level. Analysis of proteins by electrophoresis has been useful with many
insects, but some taxa with low levels of detectable genetic variation cannot be
studied unless more-sensitive DNA markers are used. DNA analyses can identify
biotypes, sibling species, determine paternity or whether hybridization or intro-
gression occurs, and provide information on founder effects, population genetic
structure, gene flow, inbreeding, genetic bottlenecks, dispersal, predation, and
selection intensity. Large amounts of genetic variation can be sampled rapidly
and inexpensively in large numbers of individuals by the RAPD-PCR method or
by restriction-enzyme digests of DNA amplified by the PCR (RFLP-PCR) or by the
AFLP-PCR method. Although technically more challenging and expensive, DNA
fingerprinting using microsatellite DNA, heteroduplex analysis, or double-strand
conformation polymorphism (DSCP) provide information on genetic variation
at the individual and population level. The use of DNA microarray (DNA chip)
