Comparison of genomic DNA in various strains of Boophilus microplus (Acari: Ixodidae).

The conventional method of identifying acaricide resistance in a suspect tick population by the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization packet assay is a laborious and time-consuming process. DNA probes have been demonstrated as rapid and accurate tools for detecting pesticide resistance in insect species. Random-amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD) has been used by other groups to differentiate species of mosquitoes and populations within a mosquito species. By using different arbitrary oligonucleotides as primers with RAPD, we have demonstrated that various strains of Boophilus microplus (Canestrini) show different patterns of DNA fragments on agarose gel electrophoresis. The unique DNA fragments may be useful for developing probes that can detect acaricide resistance in field pest populations.