Molecular identification and genetic diversity of economically important click beetles
by Dr Carly Benefer (Post-Doctoral Research Fellow, Plymouth University)
Venue: LT PLYMOUTH, PSQ
Date: Wednesday 10 October 2012
Time: 1-2pm
The larvae of click beetles (wireworms) are important crop pests worldwide. There are many damage-causing species but identification is difficult, ambiguous and time-consuming. For sustainable pest management it is important to know which species are involved in damage so that they can be targeted, and for that reason information on the relationships, population genetics and phylogeography of such species is useful
Recently progress has been made in identifying European species using molecular methods, and subsequent studies have found that even closely related species can have distinct life histories. However, in Canada there are many species of economic importance that are difficult to identify (and many are undergoing taxonomic revision) but for which such molecular techniques are lacking. In addition, invasive species from Europe and re-emergence of pest species are causing widespread damage in some locations.
In this talk I’ll describe a study which aimed to assess the genetic variation and phylogenetic relationships of wireworms collected in agricultural land across Canada using 16S rRNA sequence data.
 |
| Haplotype map based on 16S rRNA sequences of Hypnoidus
bicolor wireworms in sampling locations across Canada |
 |
| Adult click beetle |
 |
| Wireworm |
No comments:
Post a Comment