Evaluating previously developed microsatellite markers on populations of Anastrepha ludens

Anastrepha ludens (Mexican Fruit Fly) is one of the most economically important insects in the Western hemisphere. This species has a broad geographic distribution and has been known to occasionally infest areas in the southern tier states of the United States. This research investigates the utility of previously developed microsatellite DNA, simple sequence repeats (SSR), for revealing the population structure of wild fruit fly collections. Twenty-four previously developed microsatellite primers were examined with a portion used to examine collections from Mexico and Central America. We show the results of the study and provide our evaluation of these markers as a tool for the source estimation for this pest.