Molecular Species Delimitation Using COI Barcodes of Mealybugs (Hemiptera: Pseudococcidae) from Coffee Plants in Espírito Santo, Brazil
Pablo Viana Oliveira,
Alexandre Rosa dos Santos,
Emily Lopes Olive,
Karolinni Bianchi Britto,
Francine Alves Nogueira de Almeida,
Vitor Cezar Pacheco da Silva,
Carolina Barros Machado,
Maurício José Fornazier,
José Aires Ventura,
Mark Paul Culik,
Greiciane Gaburro Paneto
Affiliations
Pablo Viana Oliveira
Programa de Pós-Graduação em Biotecnologia, Universidade Federal do Espírito Santo, Vitoria 29047-105, ES, Brazil
Alexandre Rosa dos Santos
Departamento de Engenharia Rural, Universidade Federal do Espírito Santo, Alegre 29500-000, ES, Brazil
Emily Lopes Olive
Programa de Pós-Graduação em Agronomia, Universidade Federal do Espírito Santo, Alegre 29500-000, ES, Brazil
Karolinni Bianchi Britto
Programa de Pós-Graduação em Biotecnologia, Universidade Federal do Espírito Santo, Vitoria 29047-105, ES, Brazil
Francine Alves Nogueira de Almeida
Programa de Pós-Graduação em Genética e Melhoramento, Universidade Federal do Espírito Santo, Alegre 29500-000, ES, Brazil
Vitor Cezar Pacheco da Silva
Sección Entomología, Facultad de Ciencias, Unidad de Entomología, Facultad de Agronomía, Universidad de la República, Montevideo 11400, Uruguay
Carolina Barros Machado
Laboratório de Biodiversidade Molecular e Conservação, Departamento de Genética e Evolução, Universidade Federal de São Carlos, São Carlos 13565-905, SP, Brazil
Maurício José Fornazier
Instituto Capixaba de Pesquisa, Assistência Técnica e Extensão Rural (INCAPER), Vitoria 29052-010, ES, Brazil
José Aires Ventura
Instituto Capixaba de Pesquisa, Assistência Técnica e Extensão Rural (INCAPER), Vitoria 29052-010, ES, Brazil
Mark Paul Culik
Instituto Capixaba de Pesquisa, Assistência Técnica e Extensão Rural (INCAPER), Vitoria 29052-010, ES, Brazil
Greiciane Gaburro Paneto
Programa de Pós-Graduação em Biotecnologia, Universidade Federal do Espírito Santo, Vitoria 29047-105, ES, Brazil
Mealybugs are insects belonging to the family Pseudococcidae. This family includes many plant-pest species with similar morphologies, which may lead to errors in mealybug identification and delimitation. In the present study, we employed molecular-species-delimitation approaches based on distance (ASAP) and coalescence (GMYC and mPTP) methods to identify mealybugs collected from coffee and other plant hosts in the states of Espírito Santo, Bahia, Minas Gerais, and Pernambuco, Brazil. We obtained 171 new COI sequences, and 565 from the BOLD Systems database, representing 26 candidate species of Pseudococcidae. The MOTUs estimated were not congruent across different methods (ASAP-25; GMYC-30; mPTP-22). Misidentifications were revealed in the sequences from the BOLD Systems database involving Phenacoccus solani × Ph. solenopsis, Ph. tucumanus × Ph. baccharidis, and Planacoccus citri × Pl. minor species. Ten mealybug species were collected from coffee plants in Espírito Santo. Due to the incorrect labeling of the species sequences, the COI barcode library of the dataset from the database needs to be carefully analyzed to avoid the misidentification of species. The systematics and taxonomy of mealybugs may be improved by integrative taxonomy which may facilitate the integrated pest management of these pests.
