Seventh International Congress of Hymenopterists

7 th International Congress of Hymenopterists
20-26 June 2010, Kszeg Hungary
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potential hosts are reared from the same collection. Morphological identification of large
numbers of reared fly or wasp specimens is limited by the availability/willingness of
taxonomic specialists, and generally, in large studies, a nearly unmanageable number of
undescribed species are discovered. In addition, pupal mortality during the rearing process
may reach 40% resulting in a tremendous loss of fly-wasp association data.
We propose to use a novel molecular approach involving DNA-barcode data to
unambiguously associate fruit-feeding tephritids and their parasitoids across a global
framework of crop species and native plant hosts. This will be accomplished by more-or-less
replicating the sampling design of Copeland, Luke, & Wharton’s (2009) multiyear tephritidparasitoid
rearing project in Kenya with several modifications: 1) approximately 80% of
pupae emerging from fruits will be immediately preserved for DNA-barcoding of both fly
DNA and, if present, parasitoid DNA, 2) adult flies and wasps will be reared from the
remaining 20% of pupae, and these specimens will be DNA-barcoded in order to associate
adults with pupal samples, and 3) extensive sampling over three years (years 1-3) will
simultaneously take place in 10-15 tephritid-rich regions of the world, and the processing,
parasitoid screening, and DNA sequencing of the thousands of samples will take place over 4
years (years 2-5).
All of the data from this project will be immediately, publicly, and freely available via
project-specific web portals and databases that link with established systems (GenBank, BOL,
EOL, etc.). DNA-barcoded adult specimens will be immediately deposited into major
museum collections. Aliquots of genomic DNA from DNA-barcoded specimens (both flies
and parasitoids) will be made available, upon request, to researchers for use in their research
programs. We hope that all scientists with interests in tephritid-parasitoid interactions will use
any portions of the data to address questions involving taxonomy, cryptic species,
systematics, biocontrol, phylogeography, food webs, specialization, host-shifts, etc. The
science, scope and impacts of this project are unprecedented and will usher in a new era of
understanding and managing complex global communities.
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A preliminary study of molecular relationships within Diplolepis polita
(Hymenoptera: Cynipidae)
Katherine N. Schick 1 *, Daniel Potter 2 & Joseph D. Shorthouse 3
1 Essig Museum of Entomology, 211 Wellman Hall, 3112, University of California, Berkeley, CA 94720-3112,
USA; kaschick@berkeley.edu
2 2148 Wickson Hall, University of California, One Shields Ave., Davis, CA 95616, USA; dpotter@ucdavis.edu
3 Biology Department, Laurentian University, Sudbury ON P3E 2C6, Canada; jshorthouse@laurentian.ca
Diplolepis polita (Ashmead, 1890) is the most geographically widespread species of the genus
Diplolepis (Hymenoptera: Cynipidae) in addition to having a surprisingly broad range of host
plant species. Some distinct differences in adult morphology within one of the Canadian
populations further suggest that this might be a species group and not just a single widespread
species. As a preliminary test of the diversity within this species (or species-group) DNA was
extracted from larvae of Diplolepis polita collected from populations in localities throughout
Canada, Alaska and California. Extracted DNA was then amplified via PCR to examine one
nuclear gene sequence (Long-Wave Rhodopsin), a ribosomal DNA sequence (28S rDNA),
and two mitochondrial gene sequences (Cytochrome Oxidase I and Cytochrome B). We
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