Eurhizococcus brasiliensis Wille, 1922 (Hemiptera: Margarodidae) molecular profile

Eurhizococcus brasiliensis Wille, 1922 (Hemiptera: Margarodidae), also known as ground pearl, is a root cochineal found in viticultures in several Brazilian states. It causes economic losses and is difficult to control. Given the difficulty in morphologically identifying the group, the current study aims to trace the ground pearl molecular profile by assuming that there is more than one species of this cochineal in the country. Ground pearl samples were collected in Rio Grande do Sul (Flores da Cunha and Pinto Bandeira Counties), Santa Catarina (Videira and Pinheiro Preto Counties), São Paulo (São Roque, São Miguel Arcanjo, Louveira and Indaiatuba Counties) and Pernambuco States (Petrolina County). Subsequently, the COI, ITS and 28S genes as well as the 18 RAPD primers were analyzed. The COI and ITS gene primers were not successfully amplified. The 28S gene analysis formed two clades and the RAPD analysis formed three groups. The genetic and geographic distances among the herein analyzed samples were positive. Results allow inferring the existence of at least two ground pearl groups in the analyzed areas. Two hypotheses are presented in order to explain the cochineal groups’ separation: (i) the founder effect action and (ii) the regional species independence. However, it is necessary to conduct complementary molecular studies using other genes as well as studies on the group taxonomy and basic biology to explain the ground pearl phylogeny.