Abstract:

The gypsy moth, Lymantria dispar Linnaeus, is one of the most serious insect pests of palaearctic and nearctic forests. According to their geographical distribution and biology characteristics, they were divided into the Asian and European types of populations. We used amplified fragment length polymorphism (AFLP) to detect genetic diversities within and among the gypsy moth populations. Three fluorescent-labeled AFLP primer combinations were used on 26 L. dispar samples collected from different locations of Russia, Mongolia, Japan, United States of America and China, detecting a total of 507 polymorphic fragments. Genetic similarities based on these data were calculated and cluster analysis was performed to graphically display groupings between populations. L. dispar samples from these areas were grouped together corresponding to their origin. The result supported an observation that American population has greater genetic variation than other populations and has a longest genetic distance with the population of China. There was the smallest genetic differentiation between Mongolian population and the Chinese. The results demonstrate that AFLP analysis is a sensitive technique for distinguishing genotypes from different geographic origins and provides sufficient advice for the study of the origins of the gypsy moth, invasion and proliferation, heredity and variation, as well as developing quarantine measures.

Key words: gypsy moth, molecular marker, amplified fragment length polymorphism (AFLP), genetic diversity