| Abstract [eng] |
Aphid species Aphis pomi (de Geer, 1773) is oligophagous on pomoideous host plants, whilst Aphis spiraecola Patch, 1914 is polyphagous species alternating between Spiraea spp., its primary host, and a wide variety of secondary hosts, also including pomoideous species. Despite the biological distinction, both species are difficult to separate by their morphological characters. Partial sequences of mitochondrial COI and nuclear EF-1α genes were analyzed across the samples from Central and Eastern Europe, Germany, Bulgaria, Italy, Turkey, China together with available data from GenBank. Interspecific pairwise sample divergences of the COI fragment ranged from 3.1 to 4.3%. One COI haplotype of A. pomi was predominant (n = 24), with pan European distribution. The most abundant COI haplotype of A. spiraecola (n = 16) was sampled in Lithuania, Latvia, Poland, Italy, Turkey and China. Interspecific pairwise sample divergences of EF-1α fragment ranged from 0.6 to 1.2 %. Analyzed partial sequences of EF-1α were identical in A. pomi. The most abundant EF-1α haplotype of A. spiraecola (n = 14) was sampled in Lithuania, Poland, Italy, Turkey and China. The length of ultimate rostral segment appeared the most reliable morphological character for discrimination between apple and spirea aphid species. It allowed 100% correct identification of A. pomi (n = 143) and 91.5% of A. spiraecola (n = 94) specimens from European samples used for molecular analysis. The existence of A. spiraecola in the Eastern Baltic region of Europe was documented for the first time. . |
