Molecular detection of common pistachio psylla (Agonoscena pistaciae Burckhardt & Lauterer) in the gut contents of Oenopia conglobata Beetles

Abstract

Agonoscena pistaciae is the important pest of pistachio orchard in the world. In order to detect this pest in the gut contents of arthropod predators, three molecular markers were developed from A. pistaciae cytochrome oxidase I fragment in this study. Three designed forward primers could amplify three fragments of different lengths (210, 291, 446 bp). Primer sensitivity and detection period for pistachio psylla residue in the gutrncontents of Oenopia conglobata were determined in the laboratory conditions. These molecular markers were able to amplify a very small amount of target DNA in the presence of substantially greater amounts of predator's DNA. The time calculated for median detection success for three markers were determined at 25 °C: 16.543 h, 18.322 h, 18.951 h and at 30 °C: 14.203 h, 16.399 h, 17.396 h, respectively. DNA of A. pistaciae was detected in longer time by using these primers that produce the shorter fragment. These primers have this potential to be used for ecological studies of predator-prey interactions in the field.