Detection of host-associated differentiation of Acrobasis vaccinii in a native fruit system

Host-associated differentiation is a mechanism that may promote species diversity by genetically isolating subpopulations within a species that is adapting to new hosts. HAD presents a challenge that growers must recognize and address. If biological control is to succeed one needs to take into account the ways in which pest species adapt to genetically different host-plant species. Several studies have found host-associated genetic differences in herbivorous insects on multiple host-plant species in forests and natural ecosystems. In contrast, there are fewer examples of HAD among insects that feed on different cultivated host-plant species. Examples of HAD in agriculture could be limited to native crop-native pest interactions because HAD seems to require a native system in which species co-evolve over thousands of years before differentiation can be expressed. The cranberry fruitworm has been a pest of and co-evolved with both cranberries and blueberries for millennia in its native habitat. Thus, we test the cranberry fruitworm, Acrobasis vaccinii Riley (Lepidoptera: Pyralidae), for HAD by comparing the genetic characteristics of individuals associated with cranberry, Vaccinium macrocarpon Ait, compared to those living on blueberry, Vaccinium corymbosum L. We collected samples from both blueberries and cranberries throughout various farms across New Jersey. We extracted the samples’ DNA using the QIAGEN DNeasy Blood & Tissue Kit. Amplification fragment length polymorphism (AFLP) markers were developed to assess the role time plays in the occurrence of HAD. We expect to detect HAD in the native A. vaccinii on two of its native host-plant species.