Discrimination of four Japanese Tetranychus species (Acari: Tetranychidae) using PCR-RFLP of the inter-transcribed spacer region of nuclear ribosomal DNA

Abstract

To establish diagnostic DNA markers useful for discriminating economically important Tetranychus species, especially T. kanzawai, from other species of the urticae complex, we sequenced the ribosomal ITS region, including ITS1, 5.8S, and ITS2, of four Tetranychus species and analyzed recognition sites of restriction endonucleases. We established genetic criteria for discriminating T. kanzawai, T. urticae, T. pueraricola and T. ludeni using PCR-RFLP. We propose the establishment of a worldwide PCR-RFLP catalogue.