Multiple incursion pathways for Helicoverpa armigera in Brazil show its genetic diversity spreading in a connected world.

ABSTRACT: The Old World cotton bollworm Helicoverpa armigera was first detected in Brazil with subsequent reports from Paraguay, Argentina, Bolivia, and Uruguay. This pattern suggests that the H. armigera spread across the South American continent following incursions into northern/central Brazil, however, this hypothesis has not been tested. Here we compare northern and central Brazilian H. armigera mtDNA COI haplotypes with those from southern Brazil, Uruguay, Argentina, and Paraguay. We infer spatial genetic and gene flow patterns of this dispersive pest in the agricultural landscape of South America. We show that the spatial distribution of H. armigera mtDNA haplotypes and its inferred gene flow patterns in the southwestern region of South America exhibited signatures inconsistent with a single

SUBMITTER: Arnemann JA 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6920452 | biostudies-literature | 2019 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature