Enzymatic identification of Glyptapanteles sp. (Insecta: Hymenoptera) from Made...

• Author(s): Oliveira, Luísa ; Vieira, Virgílio ; Tavares, João ; Garcia, Patrícia
• Date: 2001
• Persistent ID: http://hdl.handle.net/10400.3/830
• Origin: Repositório da Universidade dos Açores
• Subject(s): Enzymatic Identification; Glyptapanteles militaris; Madeira Island
• Document Type: Article
• Language: English

Description

During a scientific expedition carried out in Madeira Island in September 1997, Pseudaletia (=Mythimna) unipuncta (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) larvae were collected in maize fields and pastures. These larvae were parasitized by a braconid belonging to Glyptapanteles genus. This population was characterised biochemically to identify the species. Seven enzyme systems studied by electrophoresis were analysed: aldehyde oxidase (AO), aglycerophosphate dehydrogenase (a-GPD), tetrazolium oxidase (TO), malate dehydrogenase (MDH), glucose-6-dehydrogenase (G6PD), malic enzyme (ME), isocitrate dehydrogenase (IDH). All systems showed only one band, with two exceptions: a-GPD and ME which had two bands which corresponded to different loci. No polymorphic enzymes were detected. Comparing this results with those obtained from G. militaris collected in Azores Islands and in Quebec-Canada we can suggest that the population of Glyptapanteles collected in Madeira Island belongs to G. militaris species.