Document Type

Project

Publication Date

Spring 2012

Keywords

Agricultural pests, Pest management, Apple maggots

Abstract

Effective management of agricultural pests depends upon accurate identification of those pests. In Washington State, identification of the apple maggot, Rhagoletis pomonella, is hindered by the presence of Rhagoletis zephyria, a morphologically almost identical species. Using real-time polymerase chain reaction (qPCR), I identified three markers which differ in allele frequency between the two populations. Using these markers and the software NewHybrids, I was able to identify pure R. pomonella, R. zephyria, and hybrid flies collected from apple, snowberry, and blackhaw fruit in Bellingham, WA, and flies collected from blackhaw in central Washington. Modeling reveals that NewHybrids is able to distinguish 97.7% of pure R. pomonella flies, 100% pure R. zephyria flies, and 95% first-generation hybrid (FI) flies. Additional markers can be used to identify backcrossed (BC) and second- generation hybrid (F2) flies. These markers provide additional tools for agricultural monitors to check the spread of this persistent agricultural pest and for researchers studying the unique evolutionary history of these sister taxa.

Department

Biology

Subjects - Topical (LCSH)

Apple maggot--Identification--Washington (State); Apple maggot--Control--Washington (State)

Geographic Coverage

Washington (State)

Genre/Form

student projects; term papers

Type

Text

Rights

Copying of this document in whole or in part is allowable only for scholarly purposes. It is understood, however, that any copying or publication of this document for commercial purposes, or for financial gain, shall not be allowed without the author’s written permission.

Rights Statement

http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/

Language

English

Format

application/pdf

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