Genetic diversity of (Hemiptera: Liviidae) unravels phylogeographic structure and invasion history of eastern African populations.

The Asian citrus psyllid ( Kuwayama) is a key pest of sp. worldwide, as it acts as a vector for Liberibacter asiaticus, the bacterial pathogen that causes citrus Huanglongbing. has been reported in Kenya, Tanzania, and more recently in Ethiopia. This study assessed the genetic diversity and phylogeographic structure of the pest to gain insights into the potential sources of its introduction into Africa. Population structure and differentiation of populations from China, Ethiopia, Kenya, Tanzania, and the USA were assessed using 10 microsatellite loci. Additionally, five new complete mitogenomes of collected in China, Ethiopia, Kenya, Tanzania, and the USA were analyzed in the context of publicly available sequences. Genotype data grouped the populations from Kenya and Tanzania in one cluster, and those from Ethiopia formed a separate cluster. The two genetic clusters inferred from genotype data were congruent with mitochondrial sequence data. The mitogenomes from Kenya/Tanzania/China had 99.0% similarity, and the Ethiopia/USA had 99.9% similarity. In conclusion, populations in eastern Africa have different sources, as the Kenyan and Tanzanian populations probably originated from southeastern Asia, while the Ethiopian population most probably originated from the Americas.