Molecular characterization of Scirtothrips dorsalis Hood strain infesting pomelo (Citrus maxima Merr.)

Abstract

In May 2019, young leaves of pomelo (Citrus maxima Merr.) plants showing malformation and wrinkling were found in a greenhouse in Shizuoka Prefecture, Japan. These abnormal pomelo leaves were infested with Scirtothrips dorsalis Hood. Strain differentiation of this species was conducted based on multiplex PCR using the ribosomal ITS2 region to clarify which strain was related to the damage. All six female individuals of the pomelo-infesting population were identified as strain YT. Through haplotype network analysis using mitochondrial cytochrome oxidase subunit I sequences, the six YT individuals were assigned to four haplotypes (SdYT01, SdYT02, SdYT09, and SdYT38). Furthermore, the East Asian populations of strain YT collected in Japan, Taiwan, South Korea, and China comprised a total of 51 haplotypes. The haplotypes of individuals collected from citrus plants were not composed of specific haplotypes.