High resolution melt and morphological characterisation of mealybugs (Hemiptera: Pseudococcidae) found on cocoa.. HRM analysis of mealybugs found on cocoa.

Mealybugs (Hemiptera: Coccoidea: Pseudococcidae) are key vectors of badnaviruses, including Cacao Swollen Shoot Virus (CSSV) the most damaging virus affecting cacao (Theobroma cacao). The effectiveness of mealybugs as virus vectors is species dependent and it is therefore vital that CSSV resistance breeding programmes in cacao incorporate accurate mealybug identification. In this work the efficacy of a COI-based DNA barcoding approach to species identification was evaluated by screening a range of mealybugs collected from cacao in six countries.