Morphology and Molecular Identification of Mealybug, Phenacoccus Solenopsis and its Endosymbionts in Karbala, Iraq

Abstract

The cotton mealybug, Phenacoccus solenopsis (Hemiptera, Psedococcidae), is a significantly important insect pest of cotton and ornamental plants that has become widely spread in most nurseries of Karbala province. Integrating molecular data using next generation sequencing (NGS) alongside morphological data from a comprehensive collection of live specimens was applied to identify the Phenacoccus solenopsis and their endosymbionts in Karbala, Iraq. The morphemic identification of the cotton mealybug common in Karbala suggested that it is Phenacoccus solenopsis. Identification was confirmed molecularly by obtaining the five chromosome sequences of the Iraqi Ph. solenopsis with pairwise identity of 90-97.8%. In addition, this insect’s mitochondrial genes mtCOX1 (two sequences) were registered in GenBank under accession numbers PP768170 and PP768171. Furthermore, four endosymbiontbacteria were reported (Candidatus Syntrophocurvum alkaliphilum, Enterobacteriaceae endosymbiont, Buchnera aphidicola and Candidatus Tremblaya endosymbiont) associated with this Iraqi Ph. Solenopsis.All these bacteria were registered in the GenBank under accession numbers PP897797, PP897798, PP897799 and PP882706, respectively. This is the first report on the identification of Ph. solenopsis with its endosymbionts bacteria, based on morphology and molecular biology, in Karbala, Iraq. The research results helped to identify and distinguish the species of cotton mealybug using NGS and will prove useful in selecting control strategies to control this pest.

Keywords:

Phenacoccus solenopsis, endosymbionts, mealybug, next generation sequencing.