The library can identify any species that
has been 'barcoded' - even when used on
insect eggs and larvae, which often look
identical.
Image: iStockphoto

A library of insect DNA barcodes being built by Industry & Investment NSW researcher Dr David Gopurenko at Wagga Wagga Agricultural Institute will prove crucial in the battle against invasive pests.

The research is funded by the NSW Government’s BioFirst initiative and is now in its third year.

The barcoding work characterises a single gene across a broad range of species.

Information from the gene is used as a DNA barcode for species identification.

As more species are barcoded, the library builds up and can be used as a reference to later identify suspected insects pests.

The technology is easily applied to insect eggs and larvae, which are often impossible to identify to species level by visual means.

“Barcoding of insect DNA provides a rapid means of species identification greatly assisting and speeding efforts of the traditional insect taxonomists who are few and far between in Australia,” Dr Gopurenko said.

“It is particularly useful for rapidly identifying invasive insect pests, such as the Asian gypsy moth, which if introduced to this region, would have terrible consequences for the timber industry.

“The Asian gypsy moth is hard to distinguish, particularly the larval form. In the event of an outbreak here, speedy identification of the species and its likely source would be crucial to its mitigation”.

He also said climate change may affect insect distributions, which would put even more pressure on researchers to rapidly identify outbreak pest species and their source populations.

The genetic library at Wagga Wagga currently has DNA barcodes for more than 4000 specimens and includes leaf hopper species, which can spread bacterial diseases across a broad range of crops.

Other targeted insects include moths, white flies, biting midges, grain beetles and a variety of insects detrimental to crops and livestock.

“Insect populations can exhibit different levels of resistance to pesticides and barcoding insect DNA can provide valuable information for identification and control of these pests,” Dr Gopurenko said.

“The DNA barcoding initiative is global and genetic information is shared with researchers from numerous other countries, which is essential in a world where pests are now so easily transported from one country to another.”