Abstract

JIMENEZ-CARMONA, ELISABETH et al. PREDATION MOLECULAR DETECTION ON Hypothenemus hampei (COLEOPTERA: CURCULIONIDAE) BY Wasmannia auropunctata (HYMENOPTERA: FORMICIDAE). Rev.Bio.Agro [online]. 2019, vol.17, n.1, pp.82-88. ISSN 1692-3561.  https://doi.org/10.18684/bsaa.v17n1.1208.

There is a small knowledge about trophic webs implying ants that predate coffee berry borer. With the objective of evaluating the predator-prey interaction using molecular analysis, this technology was used to identify the coffee berry borer (CBB) (Hypothenemus hampei) in the gut contents of the ant Wasmannia auropunctata (Hymenoptera: Formicidae). Artificial colonies of W. auropunctata were fed under laboratory conditions with CBB, while controls were fed with a different prey. Amplification of the three primers was observed in 96,59% of the ant samples with CBB consumption, however the amplification was also present in 83,72% of the samples without consumption, which means that the primers attached to non-specific sites of control ants. We found that the primers were not specific to the CBB. Various studies argue that DNA from predator may be in excess compared to DNA from the prey and, as a consequence, less concentrated sequences of prey often do not amplify and primers tend to bind to non-specific regions of the predator DNA, generating false positives. It is concluded that the molecular analysis represents an additional tool to detect predation on this system but still requires to be more specific.

Keywords : Natural enemies; Biological control; Coffee pest..

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