Genetically modified cotton expressing Cry1Ac toxin from Bacillus thuringiensis Berliner (Bt) has been planted in Brazil since 2006. Among target pests, the cotton leafworm, Alabama argillacea offers high potential risk of resistance evolution to Bt toxin because it is a monophagous insect. The objective of this research was to develop microsatellite markers to study genetic variability and population structure of the cotton leafworm in Brazil. Ten polymorphic microsatellite markers were isolated and characterized in 20 individuals from natural populations. The number of alleles per loci ranged from 2 to 11 (3.82 on average) and the observed heterozygosities ranged from 0.000 to 0.630. Depart from Hardy-Weinberg proportion was detected only in locus Aar06. No gametic disequilibrium was observed among 10 loci. The study of genetic variability, population structure and gene flow by using the microsatellite markers developed here will be important for a pro-active management of A. argillacea resistance to Bt cotton.
Molecular Ecology Resources (2011)
Volume 11, Issue 1, pages 219–222
