Detection of novel mitochondrial haplotype variants in populations of the Mediterranean fruit fly, Ceratitis capitata, from Tunisia, Israel and Morocco

The direct analysis of DNA sequence-based mitochondrial haplotypes in individuals from populations of the Mediterranean fruit fly, Ceratitis capitata, from Tunisia, Morocco and Israel has revealed levels of genetic diversity that far exceed those previously described. A total of 33 distinct haplotypes were identified from 117 individuals representing seven populations from these countries. A network of haplotypes was constructed showing that we have captured essentially all of the sequence variations present in these populations for this gene. These results have important implications for future studies of the genetic structure of this and other closely related pest species.