The coffee berry borer (CBB), Hypothenemus hampei (Ferrari) (Coleoptera: Scolytidae) is the most destructive pest of coffee (Coffea arabica L.). It is now found in nearly all coffee producing areas in the world. The life cycle of the CBB is unusual. Females bore into coffee beans and deposit their eggs within. Mating occurs between females and their flightless male siblings within the bean. CBB are functionally haplo-diploid, i.e., males transmit only their maternally derived alleles. Thus, it is presumed that CBB reproduce as highly inbred maternal lines. Our objective was to estimate the genetic diversity of CBB’s collected from 16 countries in three continents and construct possible models of its worldwide dispersion. Further, we used AFLP-PCR, which allowed us to screen for DNA polymorphisms at hundreds of genetic loci. Genetic variability within populations was very low and biodiversity among countries was only slightly higher. A neighbor-joining phenetic tree was constructed to compare CBB populations and to trace dispersion of CBB throughout the world. The data indicates that (1) CBB went to Asia and the Americas from Africa; (2) there were multiple introductions of CBB into Brazil, Colombia, Peru and Ecuador; (3) Brazil is the origin of all American and Caribbean populations; (4) CBB in India and Mexico evolved after single introductions and are genetically uniform within each country. The origin of a recent CBB introduction into Costa Rica and the molecular basis of the DNA polymorphisms will be discussed.
Species 1: Coleoptera Scolytidae Hypothenemus hampei (Coffee berry borer)
Keywords: AFLP-PCR, phylogenetics
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