Sourcing effective biological control agents of conical snails, Cochlicella acuta, in Europe and north Africa for release in southern Australia

Publication date: Available online 29 March 2019Source: Biological ControlAuthor(s): Mireille Jourdan, Thierry Thomann, Darren J. Kriticos, Marie-Claude Bon, Andy Sheppard, Geoff H. BakerAbstractThe conical snail, Cochlicella acuta, is a major introduced pest of grain crops in southern Australia. In particular, C. acuta aestivates on the heads and upper stalks of crop plants thus fouling grain harvests in late spring - early summer. Previous attempts to control this snail pest included the release, during the early 2000s, of parasitic flies (Sarcophaga villeneuveana) sourced from southern France, within the perceived native distribution of C. acuta. The flies established in southern Australia, but only in very low numbers, such that there was no significant reduction in the snail’s pest status. Sequencing of the snail’s COI and 16S mitochondrial genes has now identified three main maternal lineages within C. acuta, across its distribution in south-western Europe and Morocco. The 1st lineage was only found in north-eastern Spain (near the Pyrenees), throughout southern France and in northern Italy. Both the 2nd and 3rd lineages were found in the U.K., western France, northern and southern Spain, Portugal and Morocco. The 3rd lineage was also collected throughout eastern Spain and just into southern France (near the Pyrenees). All the C. acuta found in Australia belong to the 3rd lineage. Highest levels of genetic diversity in C. acuta were found in the 3rd lineage, in part...
Source: Biological Control - Category: Biology Source Type: research