Species of true fruit flies (Tephritidae: Bactrocerai) are economically significant pests throughout the world. We investigated the population history and current structure of Korean and Japanese populations of the East Asian pumpkin fruit fly Bactrocera depressa using three nuclear genes (Elongation factor, Tubulin beta 1 and tubulin beta 3) and one mitochondria gene (Cytochrome oxydase I (COI)). Both nuclear and mitochondrial loci showed significant variation between Korea and Japan. Frequencies of mitochondrial DNA haplotypes showed marked regional differences in their distributions and in contrast to some other tephritid pests, the amount of variation in mitochondrial DNA appears to be higher than in the intron-containing nuclear loci examined. All nuclear loci showed population differences in allele frequencies between Korea and Japan. These results indicate that there is reproductive isolation between these two populations, as well as segregation of mitochondrial DNA lineages. A phylogeographic analysis suggests that there have been established populations in both Korea and Japan prior to human occupation. However, there is also some evidence of recent invasion.
Species 1: Diptera Tephritidae Bactrocera depressa (pumpkin fruit fly)
Keywords: Phylogeography, Population structure
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