title: Disentangling mite predator-prey relationships by multiplex PCR.
abstract: Gut content analysis using molecular techniques can help elucidate predator-prey relationships in situations in which other methodologies are not feasible, such as in the case of trophic interactions between minute species such as mites. We designed species-specific primers for a mite community occurring in Spanish citrus orchards comprising two herbivores, the Tetranychidae Tetranychus urticae and Panonychus citri, and six predatory mites belonging to the Phytoseiidae family; these predatory mites are considered to be these herbivores' main biological control agents. These primers were successfully multiplexed in a single PCR to test the range of predators feeding on each of the two prey species. We estimated prey DNA detectability success over time (DS50), which depended on the predator-prey combination and ranged from 0.2 to 18 h. These values were further used to weight prey detection in field samples to disentangle the predatory role played by the most abundant predators (i.e. Euseius stipulatus and Phytoseiulus persimilis). The corrected predation value for E. stipulatus was significantly higher than for P. persimilis. However, because this 1.5-fold difference was less than that observed regarding their sevenfold difference in abundance, we conclude that P. persimilis is the most effective predator in the system; it preyed on tetranychids almost five times more frequently than E. stipulatus did. The present results demonstrate that molecular tools are appropriate to unravel predator-prey interactions in tiny species such as mites, which include important agricultural pests and their predators.
authors.affiliation: Departament de Ciències Agràries i del Medi Natural, Unitat Associada d'Entomologia UJI-IVIA, Universitat Jaume I (UJI), Campus del Riu Sec, 12071, Castelló de la Plana, Spain.
authors.forename: Consuelo
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Pérez-Sayas
authors.affiliation: Departament de Ciències Agràries i del Medi Natural, Unitat Associada d'Entomologia UJI-IVIA, Universitat Jaume I (UJI), Campus del Riu Sec, 12071, Castelló de la Plana, Spain.
authors.forename: Tatiana
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Pina
authors.affiliation: Departament de Ciències Agràries i del Medi Natural, Unitat Associada d'Entomologia UJI-IVIA, Universitat Jaume I (UJI), Campus del Riu Sec, 12071, Castelló de la Plana, Spain.
authors.forename: María A
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Gómez-Martínez
authors.affiliation: Departament de Ciències Agràries i del Medi Natural, Universitat Jaume I (UJI), Campus del Riu Sec, 12071, Castelló de la Plana, Spain.
authors.forename: Gemma
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Camañes
authors.affiliation: Departament de Matemàtiques, Institute of Mathematics and Applications, Universitat Jaume I (UJI), Campus del Riu Sec, 12071, Castelló de la Plana, Spain.
authors.forename: María V
authors.initials: MV
authors.lastname: Ibáñez-Gual
authors.affiliation: Departament de Ciències Agràries i del Medi Natural, Unitat Associada d'Entomologia UJI-IVIA, Universitat Jaume I (UJI), Campus del Riu Sec, 12071, Castelló de la Plana, Spain.
authors.forename: Josep A
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Jaques
authors.affiliation: Departament de Ciències Agràries i del Medi Natural, Unitat Associada d'Entomologia UJI-IVIA, Universitat Jaume I (UJI), Campus del Riu Sec, 12071, Castelló de la Plana, Spain.
authors.forename: Mónica A
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Hurtado
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002957:Citrus / Q000469:parasitology; D005247:Feeding Behavior; D020387:Food Chain; D008925:Mites / Q000502:physiology*; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D060885:Multiplex Polymerase Chain Reaction / Q000379:methods*; D017422:Sequence Analysis, DNA; D013030:Spain
keywords: DS
  50; Phytoseiidae; Tetranychidae; corrected predation values; molecular gut content analysis; trophic interactions