Molecular analysis of predation on parasitized hosts
- 28 April 2008
- journal article
- research article
- Published by Cambridge University Press (CUP) in Bulletin of Entomological Research
- Vol. 98 (3), 223-231
- https://doi.org/10.1017/s0007485308005968
Abstract
Predation on parasitized hosts can significantly affect natural enemy communities, and such intraguild predation may indirectly affect control of herbivore populations. However, the methodological challenges for studying these often complex trophic interactions are formidable. Here, we evaluate a DNA-based approach to track parasitism and predation on parasitized hosts in model herbivore-parasitoid-predator systems. Using singleplex polymerase chain reaction (SP-PCR) to target mtDNA of the parasitoid only, and multiplex PCR (MP-PCR) to additionally target host DNA as an internal amplification control, we found that detection of DNA from the parasitoid, Lysiphlebus testaceipes, in its aphid host, Aphis fabae, was possible as early as 5 min. post parasitism. Up to 24 h post parasitism SP-PCR proved to be more sensitive than MP-PCR in amplifying parasitoid DNA. In the carabid beetles Demetrias atricapillus and Erigone sp. spiders, fed with aphids containing five-day-old parasitoids, parasitoid and aphid DNA were equally detectable in both predator groups. However, when hosts containing two-day-old parasitoids were fed to the predators, detection of parasitoid prey was possible only at 0 h (immediately after consumption) and up to 8 h post consumption in carabids and spiders, respectively. Over longer periods of time, post-feeding prey detection success was significantly higher in spiders than in carabid beetles. MP-PCR, in which parasitoid and aphid DNA were simultaneously amplified, proved to be less sensitive at amplifying prey DNA than SP-PCR. In conclusion, our study demonstrates that PCR-based parasitoid and prey detection offers an exciting approach to further our understanding of host-parasitoid-predator interactions.Keywords
This publication has 40 references indexed in Scilit:
- 10.1007/BF00186796Published by Test accounts ,2011
- 10.1023/A:1004013232410Published by Test accounts ,2011
- 10.1023/A:1019237229570Published by Test accounts ,2011
- Seasonal parasitism of cereal aphids in a Mediterranean arable crop systemJournal of Pest Science, 2007
- Populations and CommunitiesPublished by Springer Science and Business Media LLC ,2007
- Detecting predation and scavenging by DNA gut-content analysis: a case study using a soil insect predator-prey systemOecologia, 2004
- Detection and Differentiation of Parasitoids (Hymenoptera: Aphidiidae and Aphelinidae) of the Brown Citrus Aphid (Homoptera: Aphididae): Species-Specific Polymerase Chain Reaction Amplification of 18S rDNAAnnals of the Entomological Society of America, 2004
- Predation on immature parasitoids and its impact on aphid suppressionOecologia, 2001
- The Life CyclePublished by Springer Science and Business Media LLC ,1996
- Metabolic rates of spidersComparative Biochemistry and Physiology, 1970