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Publication
Enzymatic comparison of the Azorean and Madeiran populations of Mythimna unipuncta (Haworth) (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae).
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Advisor(s)
Abstract(s)
The true annyworm, Mythimna unipuncta (Haworth) (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae), is the most important pest of grass pastures in the Azores archipelago. Three major processes may shape the genetic structure of these pest populations: founder effects, migration, human interferences in habitat (eg. application of insecticides). The extent of genetic variation in pest populations may have important implications for their control. Electrophoretic studies provided estimates of genetic variation in many Lepidoptera, but only one was published concerning esterase and tetrazolium oxidase enzymes of the azorean armyworm populations (Santa Maria, S. Miguel and S. Jorge islands). In the present paper, the genetic structure of M. unipuncta population was studied using polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. Five enzyme systems (aldehyde oxidase, esterase, phosphoglucomutase, phosphoglucose isomerase, malic enzyme) were examined in a S. Miguel population (Azores) and compared with that from Madeira island. The results indicate that the populations are not significantly different but we cannot differentiate between the three following hypotheses: migrations occur between these Macaronesian islands, migrations occur from a common continental source (Europe, Africa), or populations from different islands are isolated after an insufficient period of time to have notably diverged. Macaronesian armyworm populations, both from an economic and from an evolutionary point of view, deserve more extensive analyses of genetic variability; in particular, these analyses will allow to determine the geographic origin of Azorean armyworms and to estimate the age of the colonization.
Description
III Simpósio Fauna e Flora das Ilhas Atlânticas / Symposium Fauna and Flora of the Atlantic Islands, Universidade dos Açores, Ponta Delgada (Açores), 21 - 25 September, 1998.
Keywords
Azores Archipelago Genetic Variation Human Interferences Madeira Island Macaronesian Islands Migration Mythimna unipuncta Polyacrylamide Gel Electrophoresis
Citation
Vieira, V., J. Tavares & J. McNeil (1998). Enzymatic comparison of the Azorean and Madeiran populations of Mythimna unipuncta (Haworth) (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae). In TAVARES, J. (Ed.). Programme, Abstracts and Participants, III Symposium Fauna and Flora of the Atlantic Islands. Universidade dos Açores, Ponta Delgada (Açores), 21 - 25 September 1998, p 121.
Publisher
Universidade dos Açores