S. Pornkulwat et al., RANDOM AMPLIFIED POLYMORPHIC DNA USED TO IDENTIFY GENETIC-VARIATION IN ECOTYPES OF THE EUROPEAN CORN-BORER (LEPIDOPTERA, PYRALIDAE), Annals of the Entomological Society of America, 91(5), 1998, pp. 719-725
The European corn borer, Ostrinia nubilalis (Hubner),has 3 morphologic
ally indistinguishable voltinism ecotypes. Random amplified:polymorphi
c DNA-polymerase chain reaction (RAPD-PCR) was used to discriminate ec
otypes of the European corn borer. Genomic DNA samples from the Europe
an corn borer were screened with a total of 120 random primers. Ten of
these primers yielded 21 clear and reproducible RAPD markers after ag
arose gel electrophoresis. Dendrograms constructed using the Nei and L
i distance matrix of the phylogenetic relationships, among and within
ecotypes, of the European corn borer showed the multivoltine ecotype t
o be genetlcally separated from univoltine and bivoltine ecotypes. The
dendrogram of individual European pean corn borers correctly classifi
ed each insect. These results provide evidence of genetic variation at
the molecular level among European corn borer ecotypes. The RAPD-PCR
technique proved to be a powerful tool for identifying intraspecific v
ariation in the European corn borer.