Ecological and Genomic Evidence of Cryptic Speciation in the Potato Psyllid (Bactericera cockerelli).
5 affiliations
- 1Department of Entomology University of California, Riverside Riverside California USA.
- 2Department of Biological Sciences Diablo Valley College Pleasant Hill California USA.
- 3Institute of Organismic and Molecular Evolution Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz Germany.
- 4Department of Microbiology and Plant Pathology University of California, Riverside Riverside California USA.
- 5Department of Agricultural Sciences University of Naples Federico II Portici NA Italy.
Abstract
The potato psyllid (Bactericera cockerelli) is a crop pest that serves as a vector for the bacterial pathogen Candidatus Liberibacter solanacearum (CLso), which causes disease in solanaceous and apiaceous crops. This psyllid species carries substantial haplotypic diversity based on mitochondrial cytochrome oxidase 1 (mtCOI) sequences, associated with strong geographic and temporal separation. Using mtCOI sequencing and genomic ddRADseq analysis of 111,587 SNPs across 590 individuals collected from native Solanaceae and cultivated crops at 50 geographically paired sites in California, we show that the previously described haplotype diversity in B. cockerelli may represent at least three genetically distinct cryptic species. These three lineages exhibited extremely high genomic F ST values across all 13 chromosomes and are strongly partitioned by the host plant. The Northwestern lineage is strictly associated with the native perennial Solanum umbelliferum, while the Western lineage is associated with solanaceous crops, and the Southwestern lineage moves between native and cultivated hosts in desert regions. Hybridization is also rare, suggesting reproductive isolation. SNP and divergence analyses for the obligate bacterial symbiont support conclusions of the host nuclear and mtCOI sequence analyses. We also detected five CLso variants in psyllid samples. The Northwestern lineage housed G, Sumb2, F and B variants, while the Western lineage housed only B and A variants. The largest diversity of CLso variants occurred in coastal regions where psyllid lineages overlap. Exploring the ecology and CLso associations of this potential cryptic species complex provides a foundation for improving biosecurity and management of potato psyllids and CLso pathogens.
Related
- Genomic and cytogenetic evidence for divergence and speciation in geladas
- A MADS51 allele is associated with flowering-time divergence and contributes to ecological adaptation during wild rice speciation
- Genus-wide re-speciation of Corynebacterium and genomic characterisation of 87 sinus isolates resolves taxonomic conflicts and identifies four candidate novel species
- Ecological risk assessment of migratory bird feces in plateau wetland: Phosphorus speciation, ARGs, and pathogens
- Integrative evidence reveals adaptive divergence and speciation in gentoo penguins
BibTeX
@article{kenney2026ecological,
title = {{Ecological and Genomic Evidence of Cryptic Speciation in the Potato Psyllid (Bactericera cockerelli).}},
author = {Jaimie R Kenney and Giulia Scarparo and Marco Molfini and Mona Tran and Steven Tran and Simoné Murguia and Marco Gebiola and Poulami Sarkar and Jessica Purcell and Kerry E Mauck},
journal = {Evolutionary applications},
year = {2026},
month = oct,
doi = {10.1111/eva.70334},
url = {https://europepmc.org/article/MED/42903320},
note = {CC BY},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Ecological and Genomic Evidence of Cryptic Speciation in the Potato Psyllid (Bactericera cockerelli).
AU - Jaimie R Kenney
AU - Giulia Scarparo
AU - Marco Molfini
AU - Mona Tran
AU - Steven Tran
AU - Simoné Murguia
AU - Marco Gebiola
AU - Poulami Sarkar
AU - Jessica Purcell
AU - Kerry E Mauck
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/10/20
JO - Evolutionary applications
DO - 10.1111/eva.70334
UR - https://europepmc.org/article/MED/42903320
AB - The potato psyllid (Bactericera cockerelli) is a crop pest that serves as a vector for the bacterial pathogen Candidatus Liberibacter solanacearum (CLso), which causes disease in solanaceous and apiaceous crops. This psyllid species carries substantial haplotypic diversity based on mitochondrial cytochrome oxidase 1 (mtCOI) sequences, associated with strong geographic and temporal separation. Using mtCOI sequencing and genomic ddRADseq analysis of 111,587 SNPs across 590 individuals collected from native Solanaceae and cultivated crops at 50 geographically paired sites in California, we show that the previously described haplotype diversity in B. cockerelli may represent at least three genetically distinct cryptic species. These three lineages exhibited extremely high genomic F ST values across all 13 chromosomes and are strongly partitioned by the host plant. The Northwestern lineage is strictly associated with the native perennial Solanum umbelliferum, while the Western lineage is associated with solanaceous crops, and the Southwestern lineage moves between native and cultivated hosts in desert regions. Hybridization is also rare, suggesting reproductive isolation. SNP and divergence analyses for the obligate bacterial symbiont support conclusions of the host nuclear and mtCOI sequence analyses. We also detected five CLso variants in psyllid samples. The Northwestern lineage housed G, Sumb2, F and B variants, while the Western lineage housed only B and A variants. The largest diversity of CLso variants occurred in coastal regions where psyllid lineages overlap. Exploring the ecology and CLso associations of this potential cryptic species complex provides a foundation for improving biosecurity and management of potato psyllids and CLso pathogens.
SN - 1752-4571
ER -