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. 2022 Sep 27;13(10):877.
doi: 10.3390/insects13100877.

A New Aculodes Species (Prostigmata: Eriophyidae) Described from an Invasive Weed by Morphological, Morphometric and DNA Barcode Analyses

Biljana Vidović  1 , Nikola Anđelković  1 , Vida Jojić  2 , Tatjana Cvrković  3 , Radmila Petanović  1   4 , Francesca Marini  5 , Massimo Cristofaro  5 , Brian G Rector  6
Affiliations

A New Aculodes Species (Prostigmata: Eriophyidae) Described from an Invasive Weed by Morphological, Morphometric and DNA Barcode Analyses

Biljana Vidović et al. Insects. .

Abstract

A new species of eriophyoid mite, Aculodes marcelli sp. nov., was discovered on cheatgrass, Anisantha tectorum (L.) Nevski (syn. Bromus tectorum L.), an annual grass that is native to Eurasia and Northern Africa. This grass was introduced to North America near the end of the 19th century and now is widespread and associated with the observed increases in the size, frequency, and intensity of wildfires in western N. America. In this paper, A. marcelli sp. nov., is morphologically described and illustrated. Compared with other Aculodes spp., it differs based on morphology and the sequence of the mitochondrial cytochrome oxidase gene, subunit I (MT-CO1). Results of morphometric analysis showed clear differentiation between A. marcelli sp. nov., and the most similar congener, A. altamurgiensis from Taeniatherum caput-medusae. Analysis of MT-CO1 sequence divergence revealed significant levels of genetic variation (17.7%) and supported the results from the morphometric analysis; therefore, it is determined that they are two different species. Aculodes marcelli sp. nov., is a new candidate agent for classical biological control of A. tectorum.

Keywords: Acari; CVA; Eriophyoidea; MANOVA; Poaceae; biological control of weeds.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest. The funders had no role in the design of the study; in the collection, analyses, or interpretation of data; in the writing of the manuscript; or in the decision to publish the results.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Canonical variate analysis (CVA) of 23 morphological traits. “T. caput-medusae” = Aculodes altamurgiensis from Taeniatherum caput-medusae collected in Italy, “A. tectorum SR” = Aculodes marcelli sp. nov., from Anisantha tectorum collected in Serbia, “A. tectorum BG” = Aculodes marcelli sp. nov., from A. tectorum collected in Bulgaria.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Schematic drawings of female Aculodes marcelli sp. nov.: D=dorsal mite; V=ventral mite.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Schematic drawings of female Aculodes marcelli sp. nov.: AD=Prodorsal shield; AL=Lateral view of anterior body region; CG=Female coxigenital region; em=Empodium; GM=Male genital region; IG=Internal female genitalia; LO=Lateral view of annuli; L1=Leg I; PM=Lateral view of posterior opisthosoma.
Figure 4
Figure 4
Scanning electron micrographs of Aculodes marcelli sp. nov.: (A) Dorsal view; (B) Dorsal view with detail of prodorsal shield; (C) Ventral view; (D) Ventral view, anterior half; (E) Dorsal view with apparent wax-like secretion; (F) Detail of tarsus.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

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