Molecular identification of Comstockaspis perniciosa and its associated Aphytis parasitoid in apple orchards of Kazakhstan.
4 affiliations
- 1Laboratory of Molecular Biology, Institute of Plant Biology and Biotechnology, Almaty, Kazakhstan.
- 2Department of Molecular Biology and Genetics, Al Farabi Kazakh National University, Almaty, Kazakhstan.
- 3Kazakh National Agrarian Research University, Almaty, Kazakhstan.
- 4Research Center AgriBioTech, Almaty, Kazakhstan.
Abstract
Background
Comstockaspis perniciosa (Comstock, 1881) is one of the most destructive quarantine pests of fruit crops, posing a serious threat to commercial orchards and natural populations of wild apple trees. Despite its widespread distribution, information on the molecular genetic characteristics of this species in Central Asia remains limited.Methods
The aim of this study was to characterize C. perniciosa collected from commercial orchards in southeastern Kazakhstan based on external morphological observations and molecular data, determine the phylogenetic position of the examined specimens using 28S rRNA gene sequences, and detect associated parasitoids using high-throughput sequencing technologies. During the growing season in 2025, surveys were conducted in ten commercial orchards, including sites located near natural populations of wild apple trees.Results
Species-level identification of the collected specimens was confirmed by analysis of the 28S rRNA gene. All sequences clustered with reference C. perniciosa sequences, confirming species identity. Analysis of the high-throughput sequencing data additionally revealed sequences of parasitoids belonging to the genus Aphytis (Hymenoptera: Aphelinidae) in ten samples, indicating the presence of natural enemies associated with C. perniciosa.Conclusions
These findings expand current knowledge of the molecular characteristics of C. perniciosa in Central Asia and demonstrate the potential of NGS (Next Generation Sequencing) technologies for the simultaneous detection of quarantine pests and their associated entomophagous natural enemies within phytosanitary monitoring programs.
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BibTeX
@article{makhambetov2026molecular,
title = {{Molecular identification of Comstockaspis perniciosa and its associated Aphytis parasitoid in apple orchards of Kazakhstan.}},
author = {Alibek Makhambetov and Valeriya Kostyukova and Gulnur Zholdasbek and Zarina Dairbekova and Bakyt Dulat and Alexandr Pozharskiy and Gulshariya Kairova and Dilyara Gritsenko},
journal = {Frontiers in insect science},
year = {2026},
month = oct,
doi = {10.3389/finsc.2026.1960516},
url = {https://europepmc.org/article/MED/42909143},
note = {CC BY},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Molecular identification of Comstockaspis perniciosa and its associated Aphytis parasitoid in apple orchards of Kazakhstan.
AU - Alibek Makhambetov
AU - Valeriya Kostyukova
AU - Gulnur Zholdasbek
AU - Zarina Dairbekova
AU - Bakyt Dulat
AU - Alexandr Pozharskiy
AU - Gulshariya Kairova
AU - Dilyara Gritsenko
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/10/07
JO - Frontiers in insect science
DO - 10.3389/finsc.2026.1960516
UR - https://europepmc.org/article/MED/42909143
AB - Background Comstockaspis perniciosa (Comstock, 1881) is one of the most destructive quarantine pests of fruit crops, posing a serious threat to commercial orchards and natural populations of wild apple trees. Despite its widespread distribution, information on the molecular genetic characteristics of this species in Central Asia remains limited.Methods The aim of this study was to characterize C. perniciosa collected from commercial orchards in southeastern Kazakhstan based on external morphological observations and molecular data, determine the phylogenetic position of the examined specimens using 28S rRNA gene sequences, and detect associated parasitoids using high-throughput sequencing technologies. During the growing season in 2025, surveys were conducted in ten commercial orchards, including sites located near natural populations of wild apple trees.Results Species-level identification of the collected specimens was confirmed by analysis of the 28S rRNA gene. All sequences clustered with reference C. perniciosa sequences, confirming species identity. Analysis of the high-throughput sequencing data additionally revealed sequences of parasitoids belonging to the genus Aphytis (Hymenoptera: Aphelinidae) in ten samples, indicating the presence of natural enemies associated with C. perniciosa.Conclusions These findings expand current knowledge of the molecular characteristics of C. perniciosa in Central Asia and demonstrate the potential of NGS (Next Generation Sequencing) technologies for the simultaneous detection of quarantine pests and their associated entomophagous natural enemies within phytosanitary monitoring programs.
SN - 2673-8600
ER -