Bactrocera tryoni

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Queensland fruit fly
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia Phylum: Arthropoda Class: Insecta Order: Diptera Family: Tephritidae Genus: Bactrocera Species: B. tryoni
Binomial name
Bactrocera tryoni (Froggatt, 1897)
Synonyms
Tephritis tryoni Chaetodacus tryoni var. sarcocephali Chaetodacus tryoni var. juglandis

Bactrocera tryoni is a species known as the Queensland fruit fly. Bactrocera is a genus of a kind of small flies. It is native to Australia.

Its size is similar to Drosophila melanogaster, (which belongs to a different family, the Drosophilidae), about 5 to 8 mm in length in adult stage. However, it has quite some distinctive phenotypical characteristics to Drosophila, for example its body colour. The Queensland fruit flies have been known for its damage to the farming industry and have gone through scientific research often by Australian scientists.

[edit] The white gene

One gene present in the genome of B. tryoni is the white gene. Its sequence on Bactrocera tryoni is completely homologous (the same), to the white gene found in Drosophila DNA. When this gene is mutated in D. melanogaster, it makes the eyes of that fly to become white. However, when this gene is mutated in B. tryoni the eye colour of that Queensland fruit fly remains unchanged to the wild type. The exact function of this gene in both Drosophila and B. tryoni is still undergoing research.^{[citation needed]}

[edit] References

• University of Florida Description

[edit] Further reading

• Courtice, A. C. (2006). Of Peaches and Maggots, The Story of Queensland Fruit Fly. Published by Hillside Books (www.hillsidebooks.com). Keywords: History of Entomology; history of Tephritidae - pest species; origin of Tephritidae - pest species; history of Queensland fruit fly; History of Dacus tryoni; History of Mediterranean fruit fly, Med fly; history of Ceratitis capitata; history of Oriental fruit fly; history of Dacus dorsalis; history of Melon fly; history of Dacus cucurbitae.