Greenbug (Homoptera: Aphididae) biotypes characterized using random amplified polymorphic DNA.

Genomic DNA was extracted from seven greenbug, Schizaphis graminum, biotypes (B, C, E, F, G, H and I) obtained from laboratory colonies maintained by USDA-ARS, Stillwater, Oklahoma. DNA was amplified using single 10-base primers. Of 100 primers tested, four were found which either alone, or in combination, distinguished all biotypes by distinct size differences in amplified fragments. Results were repeatable using aphids obtained from the same colonies 2 years later. These diagnostic primers produced unvarying banding patterns for all biotype E greenbugs collected in the field in Nebraska, Kansas, Oklahoma, and Texas.